Promises
by Streetwyse
Summary: PGfor some bad language FINALLY UPDATED! When Raphael goes missing one night, Casey goes looking for him. As help, he talks an uncertain Magnolia into coming along. Now the question is, where's Raph and will they find him in time?
1. Ever hear of knocking?

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or any characters associated with them. But I do own Maggie, so if you want to use her, please ask first. Thank you.  
  
Promises  
  
A/N: A friend of mine read one of my other fics and saw a passage of a flashback concerning Raph, Maggie and Casey. She wanted to know more about this event, so I thought that I might give it a try and grant her request. Hopefully, this turns out to be a decent fic. This one is for you, Terran. :P  
  
Chapter 1: Ever hear of knocking?  
  
For as long as she had known him, there was just something about Casey Jones that made Magnolia nervous. What exactly, she didn't know for sure. She knew that he was Raphael's best friend outside the family and that he was a close ally to them all, so that made him okay. So long as she didn't have to be alone with him that is.  
  
If that ever happened, then it would be a different story. Instead of being just slightly on edge around the man, she would have all senses on full alert. She would watch the human's every move and take each one as a possible threat.  
  
Perhaps this behavior was a bit paranoid on Magnolia's part. It wasn't as if Casey had ever tried to hurt her in anyway. He wasn't anywhere that cruel like other humans that Maggie had heard about. Usually, he just acted like himself around the young feline. Which more or less meant that he was being loud, arrogant, and a general chauvinist. All things that most females would consider either a major pain or very attractive.  
  
Though she was used to the overbearing side of the male ego thanks to her four older brothers, Maggie was still one of those females who found that personality to be in the former category. She felt that anyone who thought he could get away with calling a girl 'babe' and thinking that she was just there to look pretty needed a serious attitude adjustment. And if that didn't work, then it was time to bring out the claws and get the message across as to how far Maggie would take such things.  
  
Yet despite his never being cruel to her, Maggie was still nervous around the human male and kept her distance from him most of the time. Such feelings probably stemmed from the fact that Maggie had had contact with very few humans in her life. The few exceptions were Casey Jones, April O'Neil, and a woman named Jody that she had met as a child. These humans were the only ones of their kind who had had any direct influence on Magnolia's life.  
  
They had opened her eyes to the world beyond her family. Through them, she learned to experience things and feelings that she had never been aware of before. Through April, she managed to find a friend who taught her what it meant to be a woman and gave her the assurances that can only be given through a female figure. And through Casey, she learned that even humans had their flaws and that even then they were enjoyable company, to an extent.  
  
The last human to ever have an effect on Maggie's life had been an old woman named Jody. Through her, Maggie had learned how to live and how to treasure what she had been given in her life. That meant never taking for granted the people in her life and showing appreciation for what she had instead of always wishing for something else.  
  
All of these were indeed good lessons and ones that someone should always take to heart. Which Magnolia did with a passion. At least, when she was fully awake and aware of her world. There weren't any guarantees that she would be in a receptive mood when she was tired.  
  
Which was more or less the case now as she sat there and glared sleepily at the human who stood beside her bed. A few moments before, she had been sleeping soundly with no expectation of being wakened until it was time for morning practice. The next thing she knew, she was being brought out a peaceful dream and staring into the face of an annoying human.  
  
And now that she was mostly awake, the young feline was asking herself three things. One, why in the world was Casey here in here bedroom, waking her up in what she presumed was the middle of the night? Two, how had he managed to get into the Lair without Master Splinter noticing? And three, should she just claw him in the face now or wait until later after she had thought of some very slow and painful torture for him?  
  
Still debating the last part, Maggie demanded grumpily, What are you doing here? And it better be good or you're toast.  
  
Sighing with obvious relief that she was awake and receptive to talking, Casey answered," I need to ask ya for a favor."  
  
Those words set off immediate alarms in Maggie's tired mind. She knew that any time that Casey wanted a favor, there was only one thing that could come out of it and that was trouble. She'd learned just that after he came and asked Raph to come help him with something. Raphael had readily agreed and was off in no time with Casey. Which was fine enough, except that neither one was heard from again for nearly three days.  
  
During that time, everyone was beside themselves with worry. Some hidden it better than others, but it was still there. No one was certain if Raphael and Casey were hurt, in trouble, or even if they were still in the city or alive at all. None of the searches made by the remaining Turtles ever revealed a clue that might give rise to anything certain.  
  
Everyone was to learn the truth when Raphael and Casey returned the evening of the third day. The two were covered in bruises and Raph was limping so badly that he had to lean against his human friend for support. They had strolled into the lair laughing and with wide grins plastered on their faces over the triumph they had just earned.  
  
It turned out that the problem that Casey was having involved some friends of his over in New Jersey. A gang had been terrorizing their neighborhood for months and there seemed to be no solution to the problem. The police were unable to track the gang and arrest them, so that option was out. And there was no one left in the neighborhood to stand up for everyone because those who had had either been seriously hurt or killed.  
  
All of this only left two options open to the increasingly desperate community. Either give into the gang's demand completely and not fight back or find some way to get outside help. Thankfully, though many would have doubted anyone else coming to their aid, the second option was the one that came true in the end.  
  
One of the few who still had a spark of resistance in his heart, a Joey Gunner, had an old friend that he knew handled problems like this all the time. Joey knew that this friend, who was none other than Casey Jones, could be counted on to try and help drive the gang out for good. After all, he hated such punks with a passion and usually jumped at the opportunity to take down a few when he could.  
  
Even though it meant taking a chance on his part, Joey had phoned Casey and told him of the problems his neighborhood was having in Jersey. Things couldn't have gone any quicker. As soon as Joey told him what was going on, Casey had promised that he would be there within two days with help. He immediately left home and sought out Raphael as his 'help', as he knew the Turtle liked busting heads in as much as he did. And from there, things simply took their course.  
  
It had been a hard fight for them in the long run, but human and mutant had managed to take down the bulk of the gang's power. They had proven without a shadow of a doubt that no one was going to take the intimidation any longer and that there was someone willing to fight to make a point. It was a message that, in the end, was well heard and caused the remainder of the gang to back off at least for a time .  
Of course, the fight had been tough on the two vigilantes as well. For their troubles, they had received a multitude of dark bruises, a black eye for both of them, a badly sprained ankle and two cracked ribs for Raph, and a sore arm for Casey. All injuries that would take a great deal to heal and fade into memory. But neither Raph nor Casey saw the injuries, despite the pain, as anything to worry about. To them, they were hard won badges of honor that were to be worn with pride. Too bad they were the only ones who felt that way.  
  
Everyone else saw them as damage that had earned in a fight that could have well been avoided. Even if they had been trying to help others, they thought that Raphael and Casey Jones had acted like complete idiots in this case and should have used their heads instead. And no one had been afraid to tell them just that while the two were recuperating.  
  
Casey had been allowed to stay with April while he was healing. She of course, made his time with her as tough as possible. April, who cared for Casey but never openly admitted it to others, couldn't believe that he would put himself in that much danger. She knew that he could be reckless, that was a side of him that she found childish and charming at the same time, but she had never thought he would go to this extreme.  
  
Raphael's situation was to be no better than his friend's during his recovery period. Splinter had been furious and grounded Raphael for three months after that little stunt. Most of which was spent recuperating in bed so that his sore leg and bruised side could heal properly. And during that time, he was lectured daily by not only Splinter, but by Leo and Don as well.  
  
Leo, true to form when it came to acting as the oldest son and star student, had lectured his younger brother on how stupid it was to just leave without telling anyone or doing something so dangerous. He kept that up for hours when Splinter wasn't around, more than once coming close to driving his bed-ridden brother to getting up and trying to strangle him. Only the fact that Splinter would have skinned him and Don would have knocked him upside the head kept Raph from doing that.  
  
In Donatello's case, he lectured his brother on his injuries. Being the 'doctor' in the family, it was usually his job to patch everyone else up if there was an accident or a fight. How he felt in either case usually varied with the circumstances. If the accident or fight had been unavoidable, then he didn't mind patching someone up. If the accident came through stupidity or the fight through provoking another, that was a different story. Then he would just go ballistic and give someone a piece of his mind, as he had done when he was working on Raph.  
  
Not a very pretty picture as far as Raph had been concerned. He had lived through enough lectures after that to last him for quite awhile, even for him, so he didn't press his luck on anything. Instead, he just took things as they came to him and waited for a better opportunity to complain.  
  
And from what Maggie remembered, that hadn't been for some time to come. Even after his punishment was up and his wounds were healed, Raph still got dark looks from everyone else from time to time and more than a few stern warnings from Splinter. The glares Raph would either ignore or return in full force to whomever had started it. But those warnings he took to heart, since the one person he knew better than to ignore or growl at was his Master. If he did, it either meant a more in-depth lecture or doing a number of flips that he end up passing out from before Splinter thought he'd had enough.  
  
Knowing all this herself, Maggie knew that she had to be wary if Casey was asking her for a favor. The last thing she wanted was to get into trouble because of something he either couldn't do himself or was too lazy to do. She had enough problems to worry about already without having to deal with one of Casey's as well.  
  
Still, it wouldn't be polite to at least hear his request. That would be another breach of the etiquette that Splinter had taught her and that just didn't sit too well with the young feline. She wasn't as much a stickler for the rules as Leo might be, but she still hated to break one even when Splinter wasn't there. It just didn't seem right to her somehow.  
  
Sighing to herself, Maggie thought, I guess that means I better hear him out or I'll never get back to sleep tonight.  
  
She turned her full attention back to the human after that, as it had been slightly divided as she recalled what had happened. Her gaze, now only a bit hazed by fatigue, was wary and she made no attempt to hide it. Maggie wanted Casey to know that even if she would listen to him, it didn't mean she was going to be entirely nice while doing it.  
  
What kind of favor? Maggie asked suspiciously.  
  
"I need you to help me find Raph. I sort of lost track of him while we were out," Casey replied without hesitation.  
  
At first, Maggie could only stare dumbfounded at the human. She honestly wasn't sure if she had heard him right. Did he just say that he had lost her brother? He had lost a guy who was supposed to be his best friend and the one person who could stand him for more than 10 minutes without wanting to strangle him?  
  
It took a few seconds for this information and the shock to settle in. Once it had, the girl could only feel one thing and think of one thing to say. And that didn't come out with her in the best of moods.  
  
How do you lose a giant turtle dressed in a trench coat that smells like last week's garbage?! Maggie demanded angrily.  
  
Casey winced from the glare he was receiving from the cat-girl. He could easily tell that she was upset with what she had just told him. And to be honest, he couldn't blame her. He was upset with losing Raph himself, since he was a guy that someone could easily keep track of. Well, most of the time, and when there wasn't a huge crowd getting in the way.  
  
"I can't help it if there was a crowd at that bar," Casey answered.  
  
A BAR!? Maggie shrieked, What were you doing in a bar?!  
  
Again, Casey couldn't help but wince at the look on Magnolia's face. Even in silence, she was perfectly capable of expressing her emotions to him as they 'spoke'. The way her fur puffed out in outrage and the way her eyes shown with shock was more than enough to tell him that.  
  
Damn, he thought, I better be glad she's not a chatterbox like Mike or else I'd really be hearin' some screechin' then.  
  
He waited a moment for Maggie to calm down at least a little before continuing. As impatient as he could get sometimes, Casey knew that he wouldn't get anywhere if the girl was too upset to even listen to him. Better to have her at least half-rational than on a rampage.  
  
"Look kid," Casey said after a moment," I don't have time to explain everything to ya. I just need ya to come on and help me find Raph before he gets himself into trouble."  
  
Maggie, still agitated that her brother had been in a bar, just hissed at him. She knew that he was right though. As much as she wanted answers, now wasn't the time for them. Right now was the time to keep her head.  
  
But that couldn't stop one major thought from coming to mind. If Casey needed someone to help him find Raphael, then why didn't he ask Master Splinter or one of the other Turtles? Even if they might get upset with the human for waking them up so late, they wouldn't have refused to help him. They were certainly more qualified to help find him than she was, so why come to her? It was something that just didn't sit right with Magnolia and something she had to know about before this went any further.  
  
Why don't you just ask Master Splinter to help you track him down? He knows Raphael's scent as well as I do, if not better, Magnolia asked, her hands moving in a quick flurry.  
  
Her signs were watched carefully by the human, who tried to take into account how nervous she was. It was hard for him to see it in her hands. To do that, he had to look into her eyes and face, which more easily reflected to the human than anything else.  
  
In reality, this was what Casey usually relied on when he was talking to Maggie on his own like this. He barely understood what Maggie was saying to him otherwise. If he wanted a full translation, then he would have to ask Raph, one of his brothers, or Splinter. They were the only ones who fully understood the entirety of Magnolia's self-invented sign language and could offer the best translations for their human friends.  
  
"I'll be honest with you, furball," Casey replied," If I ask anyone else to help me find that bum brother of yours, they'll just make a big fuss about while we're out there and on the way back. But I also know that you won't do that sort of thing. You'll help me find Raphael and keep quiet about it until this is over. That's why I want your help."  
  
When he put it that way, Maggie had to admit that it made sense. If Casey did ask anyone else, like Mike and especially Leo, then they would make a huge fuss about it. They would yell and rant the entire way instead of just initially like she had. They would be demanding what in the world they were doing in a bar and why Casey had even let Raph out of his sight. And this was just with her brothers.  
  
There was no doubt in her mind what would have happened if Casey had sought out Splinter to help him find the missing Turtle. The rat would act calm at first, agreeing with Casey that it was better to search for his son than to act rashly. He would search to the best of his abilities, never ceasing until he found what was sought.  
  
When Raphael was found, Splinter would take his condition into account first. If he were injured, then he would help bring his son home and then tend to his wounds for however long it took for them to heal. And once they had healed properly or there were no injuries to begin with, then Splinter would literally knock some sense into his hotheaded son.  
  
Because if there was one thing that Splinter wouldn't tolerate from his students it was one of them acting stupid on the surface. He had always taught them the dangers of being among the humans, even when with allies, and that one must never let their guard down under any circumstances.  
  
He also taught them that if they had gone in a group or in pairs, they were to stay that way and not separate unless there was no other choice. After all, there were strengths in numbers. A fact that worked whether one was a ninja or just the average person trying to keep out of trouble.  
  
Man, how come I always have to be the one that has to clean up after these guys when no one else will? Maggie groaned to herself, I don't want Raph to be in trouble, but if I go and don't tell anyone, I'll get into trouble too.  
  
Which was true enough, if she was reading Casey's request and his words right. If she went to help him, then that meant she had to leave the lair without telling anyone. It was the only way that they could be sure that a big fuss wouldn't be raised until after Raphael was found and brought home.  
  
At the same time though, it meant that she would have to break one of Splinter's major rules. For as long as she could remember, he had always made a point of knowing where his students were or could be found. So whenever one or more of them wanted to leave the safety of the lair, they had to tell Splinter before going anywhere. If they didn't and tried to sneak out instead, it was only trouble in the end and Maggie knew all this full well.  
  
"Look, I know you're scared, kid, but you gotta tell me what you're gonna do NOW. If we don't start lookin' and find him soon, there's no telling what kind of trouble Raph's gonna get himself into. I know you don't want that to happen," Casey insisted, interrupting the girl's train of thought.  
  
That was the clincher right there and Casey knew it. He knew that he had Maggie with those words. Even if she didn't trust him, there was no way she would risk letting her brother get hurt. He may have been a major pain in the neck at times but he still meant too much to her for that to happen.  
  
Okay, okay, Maggie sighed, I'll go with you. Just go on up and wait for me in the tunnel. I'll meet you after I change and get my coat.  
  
She started throw the covers off and to get out of bed. But then she noticed that Casey was still sitting on the end of her bed, showing no signs that he was going to leave. Growling to herself about morons in hockey masks, she decided that she was no longer in a mood to be even remotely civil with Casey Jones.  
  
Pointing to the door, Maggie snapped, OUT!  
  
This time, when he saw the way her lip was curling up into a snarling hiss, Casey got the idea loud and clear. He could tell that Maggie meant business when she told him to get out and she wouldn't take anything less than his leaving as an answer. So with a quick nod, he got off the edge of her bed and left.  
  
Maggie rolled her eyes as she watched him go. She waited until he was completely out of sight before getting out of bed herself and making her way over to her dresser. While she was rummaging through the drawers for a change of clothes, Maggie began wondering how her brother could be so stupid and how he had ever become friends with such an idiot of a human.  
  
A/N: Okay, end chapter 1. Just a few more to go. When that's gonna be, I don't really know. But it should be within a few weeks since I've already gotten started on chapter 2.  
  
Casey Jones: At least you're doing something instead of sitting on your rear like you usually do, babe.  
  
*eye twitches* Okay, two things. One, don't tell a writer what she should be doing or else she may write into a fic with giant monsters trying to have you for lunch. And two, don't call me babe again or you'll face my wrath.  
  
Casey Jones: *laughs* Oh yeah, I'm really scared, babe. Like you're really gonna pull something like that. You write too much mush and angst for that to happen.  
  
*changes into alter ego, Enigma-1* Okay, you ask for it. Start running, Space Case.  
  
Casey Jones: *gulps* Uh, can't ya take a joke? Yowch!  
  
*gets tazer ready for a second strike* I told ya so. For you readers out there, again, I promise to get the next chapter out very soon. And next time, the annoying peanut-brained gallery will NOT be present. Later. 


	2. The hunt is on

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything related. I just own Maggie any my originals.  
  
A/N: *using fire extinguisher on keyboard* Hey, please excuse the smoke. I sort of had a meltdown with the keyboard from typing on the poor thing too much lately. But I should be able to talk Don into fixing it for me or else I'll just pull out of one my spares. Whichever comes first.  
  
*tosses extinguisher into closest* But onto more important things. I'm pretty sure everyone's curious to find out what's happening with Casey and Maggie right now. Either they've managed to kill each other or they're hot on Raph's trail. Read ahead to find out and I'll see ya when you're done. Later.  
  
Chapter 2: The hunt is on  
  
Just as it was any other night, even in the latest of hours, New York City was alive with activity. All over, people were going to parties or heading home from one, while others were just going to see a show or movie somewhere. Still others had remained at home, choosing to sleep the night away to be ready for the next day instead of having fun in the late hours. But that was not the case for everyone in the city.  
  
There were two figures that would know neither sleep nor fun this particular night. These two, unlike the others who inhabited the city, had a mission before them. They sought to find one who was very close to them both. Someone who was missing in the night and who's fate was unknown to them both.  
  
At the moment, these two figures were hot on the trail of the one they were seeking. They had been on the trail for more than two hours now, having gone through several different blocks and neighborhoods as they went. It had been bumpy at first, since the trail had almost been cold by the time they had started. But they longer they went, it went from bumpy to certain and then to a mixture of the two.  
  
"Anything?" Casey asked.  
  
Maggie shook her head and shrugged. The scent that she had been following had tapered off and then disappeared down the alley they now stood in. It was the fifth time that this had happened now and it was truly starting to get on the girl's nerves.  
  
She knew her brother's scent as like the back of her own paw, as she did for all her brothers. Each one smelled differently to her. Each one had the scent of turtle mixed with something that was unique to each of them. From his constant practicing, Leo smelled like leather from the practice mats and metal from his swords. Mikey, from all the food he was around, smelled like pizza and other concoctions mixed as one, while Don smelled like oil and metal from all the machines he worked with.  
  
Perhaps the most unique of all the smells was the one that she had been following. Raph was the brother who spent more time on the surface than any of the others. Because of that, he encountered a variety of things that one would never find underground in the sewers. Together, these mixed with the metal of his sais and the oil he used to clean them. And this made it much easier for Maggie to follow, even when the trail seemed to be going cold.  
  
Pulling her jacket closer around her, Maggie was suddenly grateful for having it and her fur coat. With these, it was possible for her to keep from going cold like the trail she was attempting to follow. Not that it was really that chilly this evening, but it still felt nice to keep the cold out and the warmth in.  
  
Like her brothers often did when they came to the surface, Maggie was dressed in a way that would supposedly hide her difference from the humans. But what she wore and how it effected how well she hid in the upper world varied greatly from the way it did for her brothers. For unlike her brothers, who wore trench coats and hats to hide their features, Maggie wore a regular jacket, a hat and sometimes a pair of gloves to keep herself hidden.  
  
The jacket, an old brand that April had found for her after Maggie's last growth spurt, was of the lighter variety. It was tan in color with stripes of black around the collar and at the wrists of the sleeves. One of the elbows was patched over with a strip of gray to cover up a hole that had been there when the jacket was first found.  
  
This jacket matched and fit very well with the clothing that Maggie wore constantly. As had been the case when she was a child, she only had a few outfits for everyday wear and something to wear at night. Right now, she was dressed in a pair of tan, knee-length shorts and a tie-died shirt of green, red, orange, blue and yellow. Around her waist, her tail was wrapped so that it appeared like a belt.  
  
Using her tail as a belt helped to further create the illusion that Maggie was at least semi-human in appearance. It kept people from asking too many questions if they caught sight of her and also gave the girl a surprise advantage if she found herself in a fight. After all, if no one knew that you had a tail, then it would be quite a shock for someone if that tail suddenly came out of nowhere and stole a weapon from your own belt.  
  
It wasn't totally comfortable for Magnolia though. Normally, she was used to allowing her tail to just hang behind her since that was its natural position. So have it wrapped around her waist at an angle for any extended period was just still enough to make her feel sore there.  
  
That feeling also applied a bit to Maggie's paws. Though not as sore as her tail was feeling right now, they were still a bit cramped from the gloves that she was wearing. The gloves were for keeping people from noticing the fact that Maggie had claws. Most of the time, she either kept these sheathed or just allowed the tips to show through her fingertips.  
  
That was how Splinter had taught her to keep her claws when not in a fight or using her claws to get a grasp on something. Usually, Maggie was able to keep to these teachings and there wasn't a problem. But there were still the occasions when she was frightened or angered so radically that her claws came out on pure instinct. When that happened, Maggie could only go with her survival instincts and start swiping at whatever was coming at her.  
  
Hence the reason for the gloves. There was no much on the surface that Maggie wasn't prepared for that she might fall on instinct in order to protect herself. Which could only lead to trouble if whoever she started clawing at happened to be an innocent bystander. So they had to stay on, even when Maggie was uncomfortable in them.  
  
But feeling comfortable would have been a great deal more enjoyable than the real discomfort that Maggie was feeling when it came to her hat. Like her brothers' hats, it was an old fedora that really didn't fit too well with the rest of the outfit that she wore. Only with Maggie's, the hat had to extra large in order to hide her ears.  
  
Far larger than any human's or even Splinter's, Maggie had to put a great deal in hiding her ears. Instead of allowing them to stand straight up, she had to keep them angled down so that they were slanted straight against her head. Doing this for more than a few minutes at a time always made Maggie's ears hurt and even more so when she was forced to cover them with a hat that literally pinned her ears to her skull.  
  
It was a time like this that Magnolia really did envy her human companion. He didn't have to feel uncomfortable in his clothing in order to get around. All he had to do was just keep on his coat and walk in just about wherever he pleased. That was something that Maggie would never be able to do nor was it a feeling that she would ever admit to Casey Jones or anyone else.  
  
No sense in making his ego bigger than it already was or wasting the effort. That kind of energy could better be used to get something useful out of Casey. Like, exactly where he had last seen her brother and the information about what had happening when they lost track of one another.  
  
Earlier in their search, that was exactly what happened. Maggie finally managed to pry the details of the earlier evening out of Casey. It had taken a bit of work though, as he kept evading the situation and insisting that they had to keep their minds on finding Raph first. Though she agreed that they had to find her brother, Maggie still wanted an explanation as to what he and his human friend had been doing at a bar.  
  
Casey had been a little reluctant to admit what had happened to her. He was still embarrassed that he had lost track of his friend so easily. If he had known Maggie's exact words, he would have more than readily agreed that it seemed very hard to lose a giant, upright turtle in a trench coat. But soon enough, when Maggie started giving him the feline version of the evil eye, Casey spilled. There was just something about having a cat constantly glaring at him like that that was unsettling.  
  
He had begun with what Maggie already knew. Earlier that evening, he had come by looking for Raph so that they could go on their weekly punk patrol. As always, the Turtle had come along without a complaint. He always looked forward to being able to bust in a few heads.  
  
Yet tonight, Raph's head didn't seem to be entirely focused on his 'work'. He seemed to be distracted by something. Enough so that even Casey noticed, who asked his pal if anything wrong when they finished with another bunch of street punks. Raph had of course denied such a thing and insisted that he was just a bit tired from having to deal with Leonardo's nagging all day. Since that was a normal circumstance in his friend's life, Casey had accepted that excuse and let the matter drop.  
  
They had just gone on with their usual business for a good while before they finally came across something that made them stop for a time. One of the punks that the duo had come across happened to be a thief who had stolen something from an elderly friend of Casey's. The item, a gold ring inscribed with her late husband's name and his feelings towards her, had been stolen almost a year before and had been missing ever since.  
  
Knowing how heartbroken Mrs. Montana was over the loss, Casey had made a promise to himself that he would find it for her. That was a long shot of course, since New York was a big city and there were no clues as to who the thieve had been. Nonetheless, Casey was determined to find that ring and return it to its rightful owner.  
  
Tonight, Fate had smiled upon Casey and he found the long sought after ring. At first, he was completely stunned that he had actually managed to find the ring. But that feeling soon gave way to excitement as he realized that he could keep his vow to Mrs. Montana and return her ring. So excited that he decided then and there to phone her so that he could tell her the good news.  
  
There was just the problem of finding a phone to consider first. Casey didn't have a cell phone with him and the one that Raphael carried had dead batteries, so there was no hope of calling from the streets. Instead, they would have to find a closer location out in the city in order to make the call.  
  
The nearest place with a phone turned out to be a local bar that Casey had been to a few times over the years. It was in one of the more unpleasant neighborhoods that Casey Jones had frequented in his life and filled with people who were not among the most affable of people. Under normal circumstances, Casey wouldn't have gone there with his friend. But this was too important to forget about until morning, so they had gone there anyway.  
  
Raphael had followed Casey in, where they actually managed to get by without being disturbed by the bar patrons. Which was nothing short of a miracle, since many of these people weren't known for their manners. Had either human or mutant cast a glance the wrong way, there most certainly would've been a serious fight that evening.  
  
Once they were inside, Casey had asked Raph to wait for him while he made the call. During the entire trip, his turtle friend hadn't been picky about their having to do this and just went along with it. And when Casey told him to wait, Raph just shrugged and said that he would.  
  
It was only after he came back from his phone call that Casey learned how wrong it was to leave Raphael behind even for a short time. For when he returned, the mutant ninja was nowhere to be seen. Casey searched in the bar for his friend, asking people if they had seen the short punk he'd come in with. The few cared to answer only replied that they hadn't seen him since the two had come in.  
  
It was strange, but when Casey realized that his friend had ditched him, he became worried. Raph may have been a hothead and wouldn't do what others told him, but it wasn't like him to just disappear if he was waiting for someone. Unless of course, he was in some kind of trouble.  
  
If that were the case, then the human knew that he would have to go look for his friend. But he also knew that he wouldn't be able to complete such a task on his own. New York was just too large an area to cover on his own and there was no telling what he might run into while he was on his search. So he did the best thing that he could think of; he went back to the Lair to enlist some help. Which lead to where things were now, with Casey using Maggie to help track down Raphael.  
  
The longer they kept up their search though, the more worried Maggie was starting to become and not just for Raphael's safety. She was also worried for her own, for more than one reason. Not only was she alone in the company of a man that she didn't entirely trust, but Maggie was also on the surface among uncountable humans.  
  
Humans were something that she had been taught to both respect and fear. There was no telling how humans might react to one such as herself, so it was better to be cautious than stupid. And being on the surface like this seemed more and more insane than cautious as far as Maggie was concerned.  
  
Her concern stretched out to cover the areas that they had been walking through. Though she was curious about the surface world as her brothers were and would explore certain areas if given the chance, Maggie still wasn't too comfortable about going above ground. There was just too much up there that she didn't understand about and too many new things for her to process at once. So she kept what she knew, trying to take in anything from the surface world a little at a time to adjust to everything.  
  
She tried to ignore her nervousness for now however and instead attempted to focus on keeping track of Raphael's scent. It was getting stronger than before now, which told her that it was fresher than anything else they'd come across so far. Maggie took this as a good sign, since it meant that they were getting closer to Raph for sure.  
  
That gave her the hope that they would be able to find him soon and then get back home before anything happened. She could only imagine what might be happening to her brother if he had been on his own this long. Even on his own, Raphael had excellent fighting skills that had more than once gotten him out of a jam. He could very well take care of himself if there was any trouble and the odds weren't too stacked against him.  
  
If the odds were against Raphael or he had gotten himself into something that he wasn't prepared for, that's what made Maggie so worried. She knew her brother and his way for finding trouble whether he wanted it or not. Either way, he could usually make a situation worse whenever trouble found him.  
  
Oh Raph, why couldn't you have just stayed with Casey? Maggie thought as she led the way further into the alley, You'd be a lot safer with a dope like him than on your own. You always have been before.  
  
At the end of the alley, Maggie stopped again and knelt to the ground. Beside her, Casey stopped as well. He waited, allowing Maggie the chance that she needed in order to get their new bearings.  
  
Lowering her head, Maggie allowed the scents of the area around her to flow through her senses. There were many that she to sort through and several more which had to be discarded as she sought out the only one that mattered. Soon, she was able to concentrate on the one she wanted and needed to find.  
  
Looking up, she allowed her senses to follow the scent as was reachable within her range. But by doing so, Maggie was rewarded with something far more helpful than a mere scent. Her eyes lit up when she saw an open manhole hidden in the shadow of a building just across the street from there. Knowing that there was only one being who would willingly enter an open manhole besides a city worker, Maggie knew that they were on the right trail.  
  
A/N: Okay, okay. Bad place to stop the chapter, especially since it's so short. I didn't originally mean to make it this way, honest. It was actually part of something much longer. But I decided that I really wanted a cliffhanger thingy somewhere in this story and this seemed like a good enough place to leave one. Don't worry though, you'll find out everything you want to know in the next chapter. Promise! (no pun intended on the title) 


	3. Familiar surroundings

Disclaimer: Don't own TMNT or anything associated. Just own Maggie.  
  
Chapter 3: Familiar surroundings  
  
A/N: Here we go. This is the chapter where things really start to get a bit interesting. Well, I guess they do. At everyone gets a better idea of where Raph managed to get off to. Though personally, I'm starting to wonder if I should just let him stay lost. That would certainly save me a lot of headaches when I'm writing.  
  
Maggie: I agree that that would save everyone a lot of headaches, Streetwyse, but you know that you can't just lose him like that. It wouldn't be nice and you wouldn't be able to get any of your other projects done.  
  
*sighs* I know, I know. But a girl can dream can't she? Oh yeah, just so that everyone knows, there is a bit of foul language in this, so if you're offended by that sort of thing, don't read it.  
  
He had been expecting any number of things to happen while they were out tonight. He had thought that they would have to cover a good part of the city in their trek. Maybe even get into places that might lead them into a fight. All of that Casey could and was willing to deal with. But what he knew was about to happen was just too much.  
  
"Don't tell me we have to go there," Casey groaned.  
  
Only a few moments before, he had been across the street in an alley, waiting for Maggie to pick up the scent again. It had been lacking in the last hour or so, as if Raph had been stumbling along instead of just taking a straightforward path. But their luck seemed to have changed when he was sure that Maggie had picked up the scent again at the end of the alley.  
  
The next thing he knew though, she had grabbed his hand and was practically dragging him across the street. Casey was going to ask what she was doing, but never really got the chance. By the time he was able to get his footing and enough breath to ask anything, they were already there. When he saw Maggie pointing excitedly at the manhole she was kneeling towards, that was all he needed to know.  
  
Maggie just glared at him and hissed before climbing down the ladder into the manhole. Within less than a moment, she was completely out of sight. Below, Casey could barely hear the echo the splashing water as Maggie landed in the sewer.  
  
Raph, wherever you are, I swear I am so gonna get you for this, Casey grumbled to himself.  
  
Kneeling down, he began to follow Magnolia's example. He grabbed hold of the ladder and started to make his way down it. Soon, he too was below inside the manhole and below the street level. The nearer to the ground he came, the slower Casey went. He really wasn't looking forward to landing in the sewage below.  
  
Casey wasn't much of a stickler for hygiene like some people. As far as he was concerned, if there wasn't anything important going down, then taking a bath every few days was just fine. After all, why should he waste water when he really didn't see himself as stinking or there was no one else around to complain.  
  
But even he drew the line when it came to drudging around deep inside the sewers like he was about to. There was no telling just what could be crawling around in the muck and grime or what it could do to him. So he tried to avoid traveling around in the grime as much as he could.  
  
The only real exception that he made to this principle was when he was going to the Lair to get Raph so they could go out on a patrol. Then, because he knew a specific route and what he could expect to find along that path, it really didn't make much of a difference to Casey. He would just go without making a fuss.  
  
That wasn't the case as he finally plopped down in the muck where Maggie was waiting for him. This time, Casey made a face of pure disgust as he felt something squishy beneath his boots and the smell of whatever it was wafted up to his nose. In response to the smell, he immediately waved his hand in front of his face while he reached for the flashlight he carried in the bag he carried all his 'weapons' in.  
  
Clicking on the light, he could see the look that Maggie gave in return to his actions. She was standing a little ways off from the ladder, her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently. Her expression was clearly translated as 'what could you possibly have to complain about?'.  
  
"What do you expect me to do, kid? This place stinks," Casey snorted, continuing to wave his free hand in front of his face.  
  
Maggie just rolled her eyes as she tapped her nose in response to Casey's question. He almost blushed when he realized what the girl was telling him. She knew that he didn't like the smell of the sewer, but she was telling him that he had no reason to complain. After all, Maggie was the one with the sensitive nose, Casey was not as far as she was concerned.  
  
"Yeah, right. Forgot about that beak of yours," Casey replied.  
  
Again, Maggie just rolled her eyes at Casey's words. She was finding it harder and harder to control her disbelief at how stupid this man could be when it came to dealing with nonhumans like herself, especially after he had spent so much time with her brothers. And that was what got Maggie so much. Being with Raphael so much should have taught Casey that being nonhuman meant that someone could have abilities that were beyond human senses. Her sense of smell was one of these abilities.  
  
At the same time, Maggie tried to force herself to remember that just because someone seemed dense on certain topics, it wasn't any reason to think they were completely hopeless. Being a little dense just happened to be Casey's personality and as Splinter had often told her that like mutants, humans had many different personalities. Some were calmer than others, like himself and Leonardo, while others were wild and hotheaded, like Mike and Raph. Casey was, of course, fit in the hotheaded category.  
  
Eventually deciding that she really didn't have time for such things, Maggie pushed these thoughts from her mind. Instead, she focused her attention on keeping track of the scent that had led them down here. That was what really mattered at the moment, not figuring out how much of a dork someone was.  
  
Waving a hand to Casey to follow her, Maggie set off again. The human followed in suit, though he was still muttering to himself about the stink. Maggie ignored him for the most part and kept her own mind set on finding Raphael's scent again. Soon, they were walking deeper into the sewers and eventually, both fell into a silence as Maggie led the way.  
  
How long they had been going, it was uncertain. But before too long, Maggie soon found herself catching Casey looking around him nervously. She didn't understand why at first. After a bit, she began to think that maybe he was looking for signs of Raph or maybe possible trouble. But that idea left her almost as soon as it came to her.  
  
She was the one who was leading the way towards Raph and she could already tell that except for his scent, there was no trace of her brother down this way. And there were certainly no signs of trouble, as she neither heard nor smelled anything out of the ordinary. So that meant that Casey was getting nervous over something that she didn't know about.  
  
It's almost like he's scared of something, Maggie thought to herself.  
  
That triggered in an old memory in her that would have remained buried had it not been for that particular thought. It had happened when Donatello had mentioned it to her once when Casey came to visit their new lair. He had told her that being in such enclosed quarters always made Casey nervous if he stayed there for too long. That was why whenever he came over to visit them, he just got whatever he came for, usually Raph for one of their patrols, and then left as quickly as he could.  
  
Don said that a lot of people are like that. They're claustrophobic, so keep away from small spaces if they can, Maggie thought.  
  
To a certain degree, Maggie could sympathize with Casey's claustrophobia. After all, even when they tried to hide it from everyone else, deep down inside, everyone in the world was afraid of something. These fears didn't always make sense to others, but there was usually a reasoning behind them that was sound to the one whom it was rooted in. She herself was extremely nervous around certain loud noises like gunfire and explosives, which could easily send her running for cover if she heard them without warning or too closely.  
  
It had been that way since she was young and it was a fact that Maggie wasn't afraid to admit to. She knew that no one was immune to fear. To say such a thing would just be unsound in both logic and reality, as well as just plain stupid. After all, fear had its place in the world just like any other emotion.  
  
Fear was something that could help to program certain things into the mind. It told someone when to run from danger, that there might be a problem lurking nearby, or just to keep a person from believing that they were invincible to all the hazards of the world. Despite this, some people, as Maggie was guessing Casey was now, just didn't want to admit to such things. In their minds, fear made them weak and so open to an attack from others.  
  
Which was more than just a bit silly in Maggie's opinion. It wasn't fear that made someone weak. It was not being able to admit that fear to oneself and others that made a person weak. To believe that a fear could be buried under layers and layers of denial and to be unknown to everyone else except for one usually did more harm than anything else.  
  
At least that was what Splinter had taught Maggie, which was where her own opinion partially sprang from. He had taught all his students that one must understand fear and not run from it. They should face it head on and use that to help accept whatever they were afraid of.  
  
Which was what Magnolia did. Maggie knew that she would never completely get over her fear of loud noises. That was just a fact of life that couldn't be denied. But she constantly worked at steadying against the shock of hearing them so she would be able to deal with them when the time came.  
  
From watching Casey, she knew that he hadn't taken the same steps that she had to overcome her fear. Instead, he was one of those who either denied its existence or just put up with it as if it were nothing to worry about. And that was why he was so jumpy now. He was just a little too caught up in his fear to keep a straight head for long, even if never really did such a thing to begin with.  
  
Shaking her head, Maggie finally just pushed the thought of Casey's fears and how he dealt with them out of her mind. Instead, she just kept her eyes forward and concentrated on getting them down the right path. Right now, she had was steering them down a tunnel to the right, followed by one to the left and then right again.  
  
The further they went however, the more familiar things were beginning to seem to Magnolia. At first, she wasn't quite sure why. For a little while, she thought it might have just been a place she had passed through once. After all, when one lives underground their entire life, they're bound to travel through the tunnels of the nether regions at least once in their life.  
  
Yet somehow, that idea didn't really settle too well with Magnolia. Surely it was a good possibility, considering all the time she had spent exploring the sewers in her life. But there was just something about this area that was so familiar to her that it was almost like home.  
  
And that was when everything fell into place. When she realized it, Maggie couldn't help but feel extremely stupid for not having noticed it before. This wasn't just another stretch of the sewers she happened to have passed through in her younger years. This was the area near where her family's original home had been. This was the place where she had spent her childhood playing with her brothers and helping Splinter to bring in supplies.  
  
Excitement grew in her as she realized this and this effected her step enough that soon she was outdistancing a very surprised Casey. He more than a little started when she suddenly dropped to all fours and took off at full speed. In no time, she had actually left the human so far behind that he had lost track of her in the darkness.  
  
"Magnolia!" Casey called as he tried in vain to keep up," Hey kid! Wait for me!"  
  
He had taken off after her as soon as he saw her running on all fours. From what Raph had told him, that was when Maggie either wanted to escape from something or wanted to reach something important. Since he hadn't heard any kind of warning hiss from the cat girl or heard something for himself, Casey knew that they weren't in any trouble. So that meant that Maggie was in a major hurry to reach somewhere.  
  
When he lost sight of her, Casey continued to run in the hopes that he might be able to find her. It might not have been the brightest of ideas, seeing as how he could just as easily get himself lost as finding his companion. But it was really the only idea that he had and was what he went with.  
  
Ah, come on. Where are you? Casey thought as he came to stop at an intersection.  
  
He shone his flashlight down each of the tunnels that surrounded him. He sure that he had seen Maggie run down one of them just a second before. It was just which one exactly that he wasn't certain of.  
  
Great, just great. First I lose Raph and now I lose his kid sister in a sewer. What else is gonna happen? Casey grumbled silently.  
  
He was about to go down one of the tunnels when he heard a small splash from behind him. Spinning around, his hockey stick already out and ready to start bashing in heads, he shone his flashlight towards where he had heard the splash. To his surprise, there was nothing but the same darkness he had been stuck in ahead.  
  
"What the.AHHHH!" Casey yelped when something knocked his hockey stick out of his hand.  
  
With no other weapon ready, Casey again turned his flashlight towards whatever had attacked him. What he found brought a sigh of relief and frustration from him. For standing there in the light, reaching for Casey's fallen hockey stick, was none other than Magnolia.  
  
In the light, her fawn colored eyes glowed with an unsettling light that briefly reminded him of other cats. She seemed unfazed by his outburst, only holding up his hockey stick to him. The innocent seeming look that she was giving him actually made it hard for Casey to resist the urge to start yelling at her for running off and then scaring him like that.  
  
"Give me a heart attack why don't ya?" Casey panted as he snatched back his hockey stick.  
  
Maggie ignored his question and instead made a grab for his arm. She started tugging on it, trying to get Casey to follow after her. To be honest, this just caught the human off guard yet again. Here he was, ready to give Maggie a piece of his mind and she was trying to get him to follow her again.  
  
Damn, what is it with this kid? First she's trying to scare the shit out of me and not acting like anything's wrong. Then, she's tryin' to get me to come after her again, Casey thought, remaining firmly rooted to where he was.  
  
What Casey didn't know was that either by a stroke of luck or by the hand of fate, as Maggie had run closer towards her old home, she realized that Raph's scent was leading in the same direction. She realized after that there was a good chance that Raph had returned to this old haunt and that he might be somewhere nearby. And that realization had sent her running back for Casey in a heartbeat.  
  
Now she just had the problem of getting him to follow her again. Maggie could easily sense that he was upset at her for leaving him behind like that. Perhaps she should have felt a bit repentant about that, but now wasn't the time. Not when she was certain that they were so close to finding her brother.  
  
It was just a little hard for her to express this to her companion. Casey still wasn't exactly sure what Maggie was trying to tell him. He just knew that whatever it was, it was getting her really excited. This was enough that it peaked his interest too, but he was careful about how he reacted himself. There was no telling what Maggie what try to lead him into this time.  
  
He may not have usually used his common sense, but this time, Casey had learned to be wary. He'd already been led down alleys he didn't know existed, dragged into a sewer by a cat-girl and the left behind said feline. Having already gone through that, he wasn't about to just jump at every direction Maggie gave him.  
  
But the girl's insistence seemed so strong and urgent, Casey finally couldn't help himself. He gave into her silent pleadings enough that he was willing to at least take a look.  
  
"All right, all right. I'm comin'," he snorted," But you better not run off like that on me again. Raph would kill me if anythin' happened to ya."  
  
Fine! I won't run off, Maggie said urgently, Just come on. We don't have time to stand around.  
  
Taking her expression as proof as her promise, Casey finally followed after Magnolia when she ushered him towards where she had gone off to. In no time at all, they were standing in a long stretch of tunnel that had no other connections for at least a hundred yards or so in any direction. Why they were here, Casey had no idea.  
  
There was nothing to give him any indication there was something that could help them find Raph. It just looked like another piece of the sewers as far as he was concerned. He was going to ask Maggie just what was so important when she pointed towards one of the walls.  
  
When he pointed his flashlight in the direction Maggie had guided him towards, he was immediately greeted with the sight of an opening in the wall. It was a pipe opening like the others that they had already passed through earlier and had he been alone, Casey might have passed it by. But when he shone his light through the center of the opening, he could see that it didn't continue on as a tunnel like the others.  
  
Instead, it led to a large open area that went onto darkness that reached further than his flashlight beam. In the area where the light did penetrate, Casey was able to make out shadowy shapes of varying sizes. What these might be, he could only guess. Just like he could only guess as to why Maggie had dragged him here. Unless.  
  
"Are you telling me that Raph is somewhere in there?" Casey said.  
  
Yes, yes. He is. His scent leads right in there, Maggie nodded eagerly.  
  
Finally, he was getting the message. Maggie was honestly starting to wonder how she was ever going to tell Casey what she wanted him to know. She thought she might have to do something drastic or messy in order to get her point across. Thankfully, Casey was proving not to be as dense as one might take him for.  
  
"Okay, let's get goin' then!" Casey beamed.  
  
He went passed Maggie and headed for the opening. Maggie followed after him almost immediately. But her step was slightly slower than it had been lately. A strange sense of dread spread over her as she finally entered what had once been her home. The reason for which came when Maggie finally caught sight of everything inside. It was nothing short of a disaster.  
  
It was the first time that Maggie had been back to her family's old home since the fateful night several months before when the Foot had ransacked it. The rest of her family had decided that seeing their home of so many years in such disrepair would be too much for her, as she had been twelve at the time and still just a child, to handle. So they had told her to stay away and they would see to removing everything from the old lair to the new one.  
  
Even though she thought everyone was overreacting, Maggie had done as her father and brothers requested. There had already been too many upsetting events for the family at that point and she didn't want to add one more problem to the list. So she had stayed away, allowing them to handle everything that needed to be done.  
  
Instead, she had stayed at the new lair and helped to clean up there. While she worked there, most of the family's possessions were slowly transferred from the old home to the new one. Unfortunately, not everything had survived the Foot's attack and many things had been broken beyond repair.  
  
These things had been replaced of course. There was no problem in doing that, as people were always throwing out more than enough junk that the family could rebuild and use for themselves. But it was impossible to replace the memories that went with what had been destroyed.  
  
Thoughts of such things actually sent Maggie's mind racing. So quickly, it actually caused her to do something that she normally wouldn't consider at a time like this. Maggie gave into an impulse that came with such strength that for a brief moment, everything else was forgotten.  
  
Maggie was so caught up in her thought that she didn't even hear Casey calling her name. She just kept running to the destination that stuck out in her mind. She reached where she wanted to go in less than half a moment, her eyes and heart focused solely on the doorway that she now stood before.  
  
At one time, a door had once covered the now empty space. That door, one of many that a human might find in their own home, had long since been torn away. Where it was now, there was no clue nor did it matter. All that mattered to Maggie was what lay inside the doorway.  
  
Though it took a little force on her part, Maggie went inside the room. By the time she disappeared inside, Casey managed to catch up with her again. It had taken him a little longer than before because he was grumbling to himself about what a pain certain cats could be.  
  
When he had asked her to help him find Raphael, Casey hadn't been expecting her to be constantly running off like she had been. He thought that she would be staying near him and leading him to where they needed to go. That was how she acted when she was helping her brothers with something. So it was more than a bit annoying to him that she wasn't actin that way for him and kept running off as she did.  
  
The little furball could've at least given me some warning before she ran off like that, Casey grumbled, Raph says she can have a mean streak in her when she's mad at someone. Maybe she's tryin' to get back at me for wakin' her up so early. I guess I better remember that from now on. I also better remember to tell Raph and the guys that we need to get this kid a leash so that she doesn't run off so much.  
  
Still grumbling to himself, Casey finally followed after Maggie. He was already to demand what was going through her head when he had to stop in a hurry to keep from crashing right into the girl. She was standing just beyond the doorway, completely frozen and never noticing when the human's arrival.  
  
Casey watched her with confusion as she stood there. When she had run off again, he had been expecting her to be actually doing something worthwhile, even if it didn't make any sense to him. To have her like this, well, it was just a bit unsettling for Casey Jones.  
  
"Yo kid, what's the deal with runnin' off like that?" Casey asked," I thought you said you weren't gonna run off anymore."  
  
Maggie didn't even turn around to acknowledge him. She just kept staring at the room they stood in. Growing irritated, Casey decided to force her to look at him in order to get an answer. Reaching out, he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. When he did, he instantly regretted it.  
  
Maggie hadn't resisted when he grabbed her shoulder. She just went along with the motion Casey had instigated. But she looked up at him with a deep sadness in her eyes that disturbed the human greatly.  
  
"Hey, you okay, kid?" Casey asked as he released Maggie.  
  
She just shrugged at his question. Then she turned around again to look at the cluttered room. Casey just watched her for a moment, not really sure what was going on or why Maggie was acting so upset over this room.  
  
"What was this room?" Casey asked uncertainly.  
  
It was my room, Maggie answered almost sadly.  
  
She carefully looked about her, taking in all the details of the damage that had been done to her former quarters. Her old bed, a park bench that had been rebuilt into a more comfortable piece of furniture, had been broken into at least three pieces that lay in a jumbled heap. Next to that, was her old nightstand. This too, had been broken beyond use or recognition, along with many other items that Maggie remembered from the time she had lived in this room.  
  
Beside her, Casey watched his young companion with mounting concern. From the look on her face, he knew that this place had been very special to her. He guessed that it had been her bedroom from the way she had pointed to herself when he asked and the dark look that had spread over her face. Remembering his own childhood and the times he had spent in his room, he knew that this place had been special to her. There were memories that had been made in this place, though completely unknown to him, that were unique and could never be replaced in any way.  
  
For a moment, he was almost tempted to just let her continue to relive whatever memories this place held for her. But he rejected the idea almost immediately afterward. As much as he wanted her to be able to let her newly found grief take its course, they just didn't have the time. They still had to find Raphael and standing there wasn't going to get that done.  
  
"I know it's tough for ya to be back here, kid, but we don't have time right now. We really, really need to find that brother of yours," Casey urged.  
  
Maggie took a few seconds before she responded to his words. Instead, she took one last glance about her, taking in all the details and imprinting them into his mind, and then finally tearing her gaze away. It was hard for her to do so though, as part of her was still too caught up in the rush of memories that came from being here. But another part of her knew that Casey was right.  
  
They had no time to stand here and reminisce over what had once been. Now was the time for them to continue their search. Their target was close, she was sure of it now, and the best thing was to find him and take him back home before things got any worse.  
  
She nodded once to Casey, then turned and practically flew out of the room. The human blinked at her speedy departure, but said nothing. Instead, he just accepted it and followed after his companion.  
  
Casey found Maggie waiting for him just outside in the hallway. She barely seemed to notice his arrival and was instead more focused on keeping control of herself. That actually took a few more seconds than Casey would have expected. But he didn't rush her; he gave her though few seconds despite the urgency of their mission.  
  
By the time Maggie did gain a hold over herself, it was only then that she noticed Casey's presence and couldn't help but blush at being caught acting like this. She hadn't acted this way in front of him before and it was a little embarrassing. Maggie certainly didn't want Casey to think that she couldn't handle herself over something like this.  
"Come on, let's find the scent again," her companion replied.  
  
For just a second, Maggie couldn't help but look at Casey in surprise. She almost thought that he might have told her to get a hold of herself and reminded her that now wasn't the time for acting sentimental. Why he didn't, she wasn't sure. But she was grateful for his compassion on the matter nonetheless. So, nodding once, she knelt down and started searching the area again for Raph's scent.  
  
Vigilante Casey Jones just watched her in silence as she did so. He had seen the look of shock in her eyes when he only told her to find the scent again. He kinda knew that she had been expecting him to say something else, like he had before when she became sidetracked, and that it had surprised her when he hadn't. He also knew that she was grateful for his consideration about her reaction to this and that he didn't rush her even when they needed to go. And of which brought an inward smile to the human, despite things, as he had finally gotten something right with this suspicious cat-girl.  
  
Casey might have been a bit dense when it came to females most of the time, seeing as how more than one had either slapped him silly or chased him off for being a jerk. But that didn't mean he was a complete creep. No, there was a bit of sensitivity in Casey's bones and every little while, that sensitivity managed to find its way to the surface when he was around the ladies.  
  
Thankfully, this happened to be one of those times. He knew that Maggie needed just a little bit more time than she had admitted to adjusting to seeing her old home like this. Even if he had urged her to forget it for now so they could move on before, Casey understood that she needed time to collect herself. She wouldn't be of any use to anyone if she wasn't able to control herself.  
  
"So where to now, kid?" Casey asked after a moment.  
  
Raph's scent leads this way, she told him, pointing to a second doorway that lay just down the corridor.  
  
She started off towards that door, with Casey following right behind. Already, Maggie knew which room they were heading to and to be honest, she wasn't that surprised that this was where the scent was leading them. Especially when one considered the significance that this particular room had once held in her family.  
  
Many years before, the room that the pair now headed for had once housed Magnolia's four brothers. From the time they were mere infants, they had lived together in that bedroom. There, they had grown from infancy into boyhood, learning the lessons of life and sharing the secrets that came from the bonds of brotherhood.  
  
Magnolia remembered those times, for as a child, she had sometimes gone into her brothers' room when she was scared or she felt something was wrong with one of them. It had been among the happier times of her young life and something that she had treasured. But that was all beside the point now. Now what mattered was what she knew almost for certain what would be waiting for them in that room.  
  
The pair reached the entrance to the room soon enough. Neither Maggie nor Casey was able to see what condition the room was in, as the entrance was blocked off by a door constructed of old, cracked boards that had been nailed together and set on hinges against the wall. The door was slightly ajar, though if it had been that way for awhile or if someone had opened it recently, neither of the companions were certain.  
  
"Just another room, kid?" Casey asked.  
  
Maggie nodded.  
  
"Anything to worry about before we go in?" he continued.  
  
At this point, Casey was starting to see a little bit of the advantages to trusting in Maggie's instincts. Though he wasn't too certain about how she handled things, Casey knew that she had gotten them this far without any major problems. Well, if one didn't count her constantly running off and then scaring someone witless. But besides that, there was enough leftover to cause him to put at least a little faith in Magnolia for a bit longer.  
  
He had no idea that the cat-girl was thinking the exact same thing about him at the same instant those thoughts were coming into his mind. Like him, Casey wasn't completely trusting of her companion and she had her doubts about just what he might do. She also knew that in at least some part of Casey's mind, he considered her just a kid, even though he was the one who had asked her for help.  
  
Still, it was nice that he asked her what they should expect instead of rushing into the room without thinking like he normally did. To her, it meant that there might just be some hope for the human yet. Hopefully, it was a change, however minor, that might actually stick around for more than just this single instance.  
  
Well, no sense in making him waste that faith. Holding her hand up for Casey to wait for a moment, Maggie put her senses on full. Her ears strained forward, attempting to catch any sound from within the room. At first, there was nothing that could confirm the scent that she had followed. That changed when she finally heard something a few seconds later.  
  
It was a muttering of incoherent babble that was barely even audible. Casey heard it too, but to him, it was very faint and hard to make out. Though Maggie could not understand it anymore than her human companion she was still able to hear it more clearly. She also knew exactly who was speaking in the muttering voice.  
  
Thank goodness, at least he's here and not in trouble, Maggie thought gratefully, Just please let him be okay.  
  
A/N: Okay, there ya go. The end of one chapter and leaving the opening for another. I hope that everyone enjoyed this. It's one of my more melancholy chapters when compared to the others, but it was still kinda fun giving clues to where Raph managed to drag himself.  
  
Maggie: But you said that everyone would find out where Raph went for certain in this chapter, Streetwyse. You really didn't do that. You just told how much I think Casey is a dork and gave a general idea of who might be in that room.  
  
Duh. I know that I did that. It's called a cliffhanger, even if it is minor, and I did it for a reason. I want to leave something for the next chapter.  
  
Maggie: Whatever, Streetwyse. Just don't blame me if some of the readers don't think you make any sense because of this 'cliffhanger'.  
  
Just like they might find it a little confusing that you're talking to me without using sign language like you usually do?  
  
Maggie: *shrugs* That's only for when I'm in one of your stories. We both know that when I'm not around everyone but you, I talk like anyone else. Makes things a little more interesting if I keep it that way.  
  
Uh, yeah.Whatever you say, Maggie. -.-; 


	4. Target Acquired

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything related. I just own Maggie any my originals.  
  
A/N: Okay, sorry for the long wait between updates. I just wanted to make sure that I got this chapter just right before I posted it. A few more things are going to be revealed, but what those are, I'm not going to say. If anyone wants to know, you'll just have to read and see what's ahead. :p  
  
Chapter 4: Target acquired  
  
"That's Raph, ain't it?" Casey asked after a moment of silence.  
  
Yes, it's him. I'm sure of it, Maggie nodded.  
  
"Anyone else in there with him?" Casey said, pulling out his hockey stick again.  
  
No, Maggie answered, He's alone.  
  
"Good," Casey snorted," Now let's go in there and see what Raph's doin' all the way down here."  
  
Fine by me, Maggie agreed.  
  
As an afterthought, Maggie suddenly removed her gloves and stuffed them into her pocket. They had gotten wet from all the running she had done in the sewer sludge and were now a mess, as well as a bit uncomfortable when she moved her hands. Besides, since there were no other humans around besides Casey, there was no longer any need for her to keep her paws and claws hidden. Now, she could be a little bit more comfortable as she reached out and pushed the door open the rest of the way.  
  
She used just enough force that the door swung open the rest of the way on its own. It continued until it hit the inner wall of the room with a small thud. Within the now open doorway, the pair was once again greeted by darkness. In the shadows, as before, many shapes of varying sizes were scattered about and it was hard to make out where one thing began and another ended.  
  
Like he had done before, Casey shone his flashlight into the darkness to see just what he could find. At first, all he could see was scattered junk like he had in the first two rooms. With the light, he could now make out that most of these things were small, the biggest only being the size of a breadbox. The rest were just small trinkets and broken bits that could have been anything.  
  
The fact that there was nothing larger than a breadbox actually made Casey a bit nervous. If that was the case for everything in this room, then that meant that there was no Raph to be found. Which also meant that they had come into this place for nothing.  
  
He was about to ask Maggie if she was really sure about her sense of direction when a furred hand came down on his wrist. He glanced down and found that Maggie had moved up beside him. To be more exact, she had moved up beside him and was steadily moving passed him into the room.  
  
"What are you doing now?" Casey asked.  
  
You don't need that, Maggie replied as she pushed the flashlight back.  
  
Casey watched her with deep curiosity as the girl continued into the room. When she was just beyond the door, she reached out and started to feel along the wall on the right side of the opening. After a moment of searching, Maggie found what she was looking for. With a flick of her wrist, she turned it upwards. Instantly, Casey heard a click followed by the room being flooded by light.  
  
Without meaning too, Casey immediately recoiled from the brightness that now surrounded him. He closed his eyes, turning his head so that it faced the darkened corridor rather than the lighted room. Once he had done that, he could safely open his eyes again and give them a chance to adjust to the light that now filtered through the doorway.  
  
I really wish she wouldn't do that, Casey grumbled as he slowly turned his gaze back towards the lighted room.  
  
By then, if he squinted, he could look into the light. He was still a bit uncomfortable in being able to see, but he continued to get used to it. The entire time he was doing so, Maggie, still standing in the room, watched him almost innocently. But from the gleam he thought he caught in her eyes, Casey could have sworn she was secretly laughing at his reaction.  
  
"Light switch, huh?" he replied, turning off his flashlight and sticking into his bag.  
  
Yep, Maggie nodded, barely able to hold back a small smile.  
  
"Kid, do me one favor. Next time, warn me before you do that," Casey grumbled as he stuffed his flashlight into his bag.  
  
You keep asking me to warn you about everything, Casey, Maggie snorted with mock defiance, Geez, you're supposed to be a big, tough vigilante who beats up street punks with his hockey stick of death. But you're acting jumpier than Mikey when he's getting a lecture from Sensei.  
  
Cocking an eyebrow, Casey almost asked if Maggie was being smart with him. But the words were caught in his throat as he caught sight of something or more rather, of someone, over the girl's shoulder. His face actually paled when he saw the person that they had spent so many hours searching for and the state he was in.  
  
Maggie, not sure why Casey was now ignoring her, turned to see just what was so interesting behind her. Like the human, disbelief was the only thing that could be expressed by her when she saw what he did. For this was truly the last thing she had ever expected to lay eyes on.  
  
Slumped in the far corner was none other than Raphael. His coat was in complete disarray while his hat, an old fedora that Raph seemed unreasonable attached to, was barely staying on his head. Both were stained in sewer sludge and something darker that wasn't quite identifiable at first. Yet these were only the tip of the iceberg when it came to his appearance.  
  
The major clincher was what lay scattered about Raphael's feet and on the left side of him. There were bottles and a few cans all about him in these two areas. Most were completely drained, with no trace of the liquid that had once occupied them. But a few, mostly those that were closest to Raph, were still partially filled. From these, some of the remains were spilling out onto the floor and forming into a small puddle around whatever bottle it came from.  
  
Raphael was nowhere near noticing any of this though. He seemed totally oblivious to the rest of the world and was staring off into space. The muttering that he had been doing before Maggie and Casey had entered had long since stopped. Instead, he was quiet now and seemed content to remain as such.  
  
That didn't stop Maggie from worrying however. In all her days, she had never seen her brother in such a state. She more used to him griping about something and stomping around than anything else. And to see him otherwise could only mean, to her at least, that he was either sick or hurt. Not sure what else to do, Maggie decided that she had to be certain of what was wrong with Raph.  
  
When Maggie tried to go forward to check on her brother though, she was stopped in her tracks when a hand came down on her shoulder. Surprised, she looked back to see that Casey had placed his hand there and was moving to place himself between the siblings. The look on his face had changed from the relief of finding his friend to one of wariness and a subdued understanding whose meaning Maggie couldn't quite interpret.  
  
"Don't go near him just yet, furball," Casey warned," It ain't safe."  
  
Maggie could only look at him in confusion when he said that. She couldn't understand why he would say such a thing. There was nothing to worry about that she could sense. At least nothing that was dangerous. All she could sense was the three of them, and one of those seemed to be really confused and out of touch with everything around him.  
  
Why won't you let me help him, Casey? He might be hurt, Maggie protested.  
  
"He's drunk, that's why ya can't go near him yet. He doesn't recognize up from down, let alone us," Casey snorted.  
  
Shrugging off his hand, Maggie asked, How can you tell he's drunk? He might just have been hit in the head or something.  
  
"Two things, kid. One, there's all these bottles he's got," Casey told her," And two, I can smell it on him. You keep sayin' you got that nose for a reason and that it's stronger than mine. Well, take a whiff and tell me what you smell."  
  
Maggie couldn't help but look at Casey in surprise. She couldn't believe it. Casey Jones was actually telling her to use her senses. That meant that he had actually been listening to her instead of blowing it off like he did with just about everything else he heard. That such a thing was true was almost funny when one thought about it, since Maggie knew it was easier to talk sense into a brick wall than to get anything through Casey's thick head.  
  
Well, far be it from her to ignore the advice of one who actually listened to her. For one thing, it would be rude, and even when in the company of a blockhead, Maggie wasn't one to forget her manners. So she took in a whiff of the air around them and what she received in return was definitely not something that Maggie had expected.  
  
She finally picked up on a scent that she had never come across before. It mostly emanated from Raph's general area and it had such strength that Maggie was surprised that she hadn't picked up on it before. It was so pungent and sour that even a weak human nose would be able to pick up on something that made Maggie's stomach to flips as the scent ran its course through her senses.  
  
What is that smell? she asked, trying desperately to resist the urge to pinch her nose to stem the stink.  
  
"That's beer you're smellin', kid. Its comin' from Raph and those bottles there," Casey replied without hesitation.  
  
Beer? Maggie echoed.  
  
"Yep," her companion nodded," That's beer, kid. Never smelled it before?"  
  
No, I haven't. Master Splinter says that stuff is bad for you and that you're not supposed to drink it, Maggie snapped.  
  
Casey had no idea what her exact words were, but he had the general idea that she was saying no to his question. He knew that a strict parent like Splinter wouldn't keep beer or anything with alcohol in his home. Not when he had so many underage youngsters still in his care. He would keep that sort of thing as far away from his home as he possibly could.  
  
That was something that Casey really couldn't blame him for. He might not have been a parent himself, but he was fully against kids getting mixed up with beer and drugs. That sort of thing would most certainly mess up a kid's life for good and just make them miserable. A result that Casey worked hard to prevent whenever he came across kids who seemed to be going down that particular path.  
  
This time, he had been too late. Even if he had wanted to keep his younger friend from drinking like he had for others, he couldn't because he had been unaware of what was going through the Turtle's mind. That had left Raph wide open to take a wrong turn into a bar, grab the beer he would end up drinking, and being left in his present state. Which meant that he looked like so many other drunks, old and young, that he had come across in his time.  
  
So he decided to forget about asking whether or not there was any reason for Splinter to keep alcohol in his home. Instead, he turned to explain things further to Maggie. He had to make certain that she understood that was going on and why he was doing what he was about to.  
  
"Well, then you gotta know that beer can do weird things to your head if ya got too much of it in ya? Splinter told ya that much right?" he asked.  
  
Yes, he did, Maggie nodded.  
  
"All right," Casey continued," Then I don't have to tell ya that much about what it means to be drunk. But I can tell ya that I've seen plenty of guys who got stoned like Raph and they all acted the same way, kid. And that means ya need to be careful and try to keep'em calm before they try to do somethin' drastic."  
  
Drastic? What do you mean 'drastic'? Maggie questioned.  
  
"If these guys don't know what's goin' on around them, they might get on edge and start to fight back against what ain't there," Casey explained," And if that happens when they're around other folks, then someone's gonna get hurt."  
  
If he had been able to see it, Casey would have seen Magnolia pale a great deal. But thanks to her a fur, he was unable to see the skin that lay beneath. And this was definitely going greatly pale at the thought of having to hurt her brother or him possibly causing harm to either them or himself.  
  
When she had agreed to come along to find her brother, she had thought that they were just going to find him and hopefully bring him home. If he was in any kind of trouble when they found him, like if he had run into some street punks on his own or been taken by the Foot, then they would deal with that as it came. But she had never considered that they might have to hurt Raph in order to help him.  
  
You're kidding me, right? Maggie asked.  
  
"If you think I'm kiddin' ya, kid, then lose it right now. I'm not," Casey said evenly," Raph really might try to fight us if he gets mad."  
  
Once again, that was not what Maggie wanted to hear. But at this point, even if she didn't want to admit it, she knew that Casey was right. If Raph was drunk and didn't know who was who, then he would most certainly try to fight in order to protect himself. It was just what he would do, no matter what kind of state of mind he was in.  
  
Okay, Maggie conceded with a sigh, I believe you. So what are supposed to do now if that's how he'll act?  
  
Casey recognized that she now believed him. It would certainly make things a little easier while he tried to deal with the more pressing problem of Raphael. He already had a general idea of what he wanted to do, but hadn't been sure if he could get Maggie to go along with it if she was insistent on making sure Raph wasn't hurt. Now he knew that he would be able to count on her.  
  
"Just let me try to talk to him first and see what I can do, kid. Then if that doesn't work, we'll think of something else. Okay?" Casey replied.  
  
All right, Maggie nodded.  
  
She stepped back and watched whatever the human had planned. She was still nervous about what that just might be, but she was willing to take at least one chance with it. After all, he was obviously more experienced with these types of situations. Why else would he say that he wanted to try things his way before letting her get involved?  
  
Once he was certain that Maggie wouldn't interfere, Casey moved forward. He kept himself calm and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Anything else could have well gotten Raph upset and then they'd really have some trouble on their hands. Not a welcomed scenario, so better to take it in a slow, but still casual and calm manner that wouldn't arouse the drunk Turtle's limited suspicions.  
  
"Heya Raph, how's it going?" Casey replied.  
  
As much as he was able to, Raph turned his head in the general direction of Casey's voice. His vision was still fuzzy, so he wasn't able to focus on anything just yet. But he managed to find the human's vague shape and instinctively associated it with the voice that he had heard.  
  
"Who. 'ou?" the Turtle asked slowly.  
  
"It's me, Raph. You know, you old pal Casey Jones?" Casey coaxed," I'm here with yer sister, Maggie. We came to make sure you were okay."  
  
He slowly gestured for the girl to come closer so that Raph could get a look at her. He made certain that she didn't come too close though, just enough so that she was seen. Casey still wasn't sure how Raph would react to either of them yet, so he was being careful with Maggie's position until he was.  
  
For her part, Maggie came forward as Casey gestured. She sensed how agitated Casey was under the calm exterior that he emanated and that he wanted her to be careful until he said so. This was something that she was willing to work with, since she did exactly as Casey both unconsciously and consciously gestured to her. So she kept her gaze completely on him in order to help Casey make this go smoothly.  
  
Casey may not have known this, yet in the back of his mind, he recognized that Maggie was trying to help him in the best way that she could right now. Somewhere, he appreciated this effort and might have thanked for actually doing as he asked for once tonight. But for now, he just kept his attention on Raphael.  
  
The entire time that Casey had been talking to him and Maggie was approaching, Raphael had just been watching the pair with a sort of glazed light in his eyes. He still showed no sign of recognizing neither his friend nor his sister and looked more agitation than pleased with their continuing presence. He growled in their general location, looking like he wanted to say something to make them go away. But thanks to his clouded mind, nothing reasonable seemed to come and so he just held his tongue, choosing instead to ignore the intruders. If he did that, then maybe they would go away and wouldn't annoy him with their chattering anymore.  
  
That was not the plan that either Casey or Maggie had in mind however. They were determined to help the Turtle, whether he wanted them to or not. That was after all, the reason why they had come all this way in the first place.  
  
"We came to find ya, Raph," Casey said after a moment's consideration," So we could make sure ya were okay. I mean, ya had me worried there for awhile when ya just took off."  
  
Part of those words managed to find their way through Raph's hazed filled mind. Part of him almost seemed to understand what Casey was saying to him. Part of him saw it as a big joke when the human said that. Part of him saw no truth to what Casey was saying and even if he wanted the human gone, Raph tried to tell him just what he thought of that.  
  
"Don't 'are 'bout dat. 'ot true," Raph grumbled," 'o one 'are 'bout me."  
  
The words were so slurred that it was hard for Casey to make out. He honestly didn't know if Raph was talking about not caring if they were there or if he was referring to himself. Either way, it was only part of a greater puzzle that had to be solved if they were ever going to find out just what was going through Raph's head.  
  
"You making any sense of this, kid?" Casey asked, glancing over at the girl.  
  
Maggie shook her head. She was just as confused as Casey was. Because his words were slurred and broken, it was hard to make out just what her brother was saying. What little she managed to translate was that he was upset about something. She just had no clue as to what the cause might be or what it had to do with him getting so drunk.  
  
I know you said you wanted to handle this your way first, Casey, but I think we should try to get Raph home. We aren't getting anywhere with this, Maggie said.  
  
Taking a guess, Casey asked," You wanna try and get him home 'cause this isn't workin' so well, don't ya?"  
  
Yes, Maggie nodded.  
  
"You might be right, kid," Casey sighed," This guy's too stoned to make any sense, so just talkin' to him won't do us much good. It'll just waste time that we ain't got right now."  
  
No kidding, Maggie replied, But how are we supposed to get him home, Casey? You said that if we don't keep him calm, he'll get upset and someone might get hurt if he tries to fight us.  
  
Even if he had known her exact words, Casey really wouldn't have had an answer for Maggie. Because honestly, he didn't know what to do now either. He already tried talking to Raph and all that had gotten out of him was a garbled response that Casey didn't fully understand.  
  
More than I thought I'd get out of this punk, Casey considered, That's gotta be worth somethin' I guess. Couldn't hurt to try again. Who knows, he might listen to me for a change.  
  
Glancing over at Maggie, Casey warned," I'm gonna try to talk to him again, kid. I'm gonna see if Raph will come with me. Just stay there, all right?"  
  
A-all right, Casey, Maggie promised uncertainly.  
  
She had seen how Raph reacted the first time when Casey talked him, so she wasn't so sure that would do any good. After all, Raph had just tried denying something in Casey's words and told him to go away. When he did that, Maggie knew that he would stick with that answer as long as he was drunk. That was how he was when he was sober.  
  
That wasn't going to stop Casey from at least trying though. He was more determined than ever that he was going to get through to Raph. Even if the only answer he kept getting was a simple 'go away' from the hardheaded ninja.  
  
"Come on, Raph. We're gonna take ya home so ya can rest. That sound good?" Casey said, offering his hand to his friend.  
  
The gesture was ignored. Instead, Raph turned his gaze away from Casey again and started to focus on his feet instead. For some reason, he had found them so interesting that the rest of the world seemed to melt away again. Which caused Casey to again groan to himself, as this was just another side effect of the beer that Raphael had had.  
  
We are getting nowhere with this, the human growled, Guess that means it's time to try something a little different.  
  
Clearing his throat, the human said sharply," Raphael!"  
  
That certainly got the Turtle's attention. Probably because Splinter often used that tone with him, he immediately paid attention to whomever spoke as his Master did. His head lifted away from his from his feet and his attention was again returned to Casey. Just the effect that the human was hoping for.  
  
"Don't ya wanna go home, Raph?" Casey asked again.  
  
Raph's head just started bobbing from side to side. It was hard to tell if he was answering Casey or if he was just reacting to the alcohol in his system. It kept up for nearly a minute before Raph started to react otherwise.  
  
"Nah, do' wanna 'o wif ya. 'ine 'ere. Go 'way," Raph slurred.  
  
Casey couldn't help but shake his head as he watched his friend. What he had suspected was now confirmed. However much he had had to drink, it was definitely enough to put Raphael seriously out of touch with reality. Unfortunately, that also meant that he would probably stay that way for awhile to come. After all, that was how it had been for Casey himself whenever he had gone out drinking like Raphael had obviously done.  
  
He could remember plenty of times when he had gotten himself drunk and why he had done so. It was so that for just a little while, he could forget his problems and just drift in a world of blissful nothingness. In that nothingness, he could find a peace that he didn't find in the real world and to him, for just that short time, that felt good.  
  
The good feelings always gave way to something far worse in the end though. Once the high of drinking wore off and the body began to return to its normal state, that was when the experience of a hangover began. Depending on who it was and how much they had had to drink, a hangover could be anywhere from mild to extreme.  
  
In both cases, there was always a throbbing pain that ran through his head with any unnecessary motion. The stress of these motions then went straight to his stomach and caused a great deal of queasiness that could bring up something, even when a stomach was empty. That queasiness may or may not give way to other unpleasant details, a fact that was never certain.  
  
Either way, it was not a very enjoyable experience. Once one did experience a hangover, it was enough that it might deter someone from repeating their actions for at least awhile. If it would be enough to stop them from drinking again depended on the person and their strength of will. If they were strong, they might be able to resist the temptation to drink again or at least keep such things in moderation to prevent becoming drunk. But if they were weak and only wanted the euphoria that came from drinking, then they would continue down a path filled with drunkenness and probably misery.  
  
Thankfully, Casey had proven to be a strong-willed person and was able to keep his own drinking to a minimum. It had been more than two years since he had gotten himself so drunk that he resembled the state Raphael was in now. Instead when he drank, it was one or two at a time and other times, he just stuck with sodas or something similar.  
  
Too bad that this wasn't the case now. Raphael had obviously had enough that he had put himself into a very deep stupor. And that was what upset Casey the most. For as hard as it was for him to admit, it now seemed that his younger friend had finally turned onto the same path that he had once taken. Though he wasn't much of a role model as far as many people were concerned, including himself, Casey was truly sad that Raph had chosen this route. He had thought that even with his temper and rash nature, that the Turtle would have sense enough to stay out of drinking alcohol.  
  
It might seem to help forget whatever problems he had at first, but it always brought pain in the end. There was no reason to bring him and his family unnecessary pain because of a bad habit. If he kept at this, then he would probably end up becoming withdrawn from his family when they tried to help or their becoming unnecessarily wary when around him. Which would only end up making everyone miserable in the end and that was not something that Casey wanted to happen to Raphael.  
  
He would never admit it to anyone, but he was jealous of the strong bonds that Raph and his family shared with one another. They had a trust that went beyond what was normally found within a family. For them, it was an important factor if they were to survive in a world where they were basically alone because of their mutation. Otherwise, they were all as good as dead.  
  
It was a strength that Casey was sure that could get them through anything. After all, it had in the past when four lone Turtles and their feline sister had been forced into leaving them home and trusting a pair of humans they hardly knew to help them. It had also held them together when no one had been certain whether a captured Splinter was alive or dead then. And it was what held them together through each trial and danger that had come and gone since those first tragic events.  
  
This time, that strength obviously hadn't been enough. For whatever reason, Raphael had given into his need to forget and had taken in more than his fill of alcohol. This had made him totally out of phase with the rest of the world and had left him in a state of complete incoherence.  
  
That incoherence was what made it more difficult than usual to deal with Raphael. It was that made him uncommunicative on even a basic level and what his attention span so short. And that was seriously limiting the options Casey had when it came to dealing with his friend.  
  
That was how Casey came to a decision on how to proceed. Knowing his friend as he did, Casey finally realized that there was only one course of action. He knew that Raph would probably hate him later or at least try to get a little revenge, but Casey knew that it was for the best. It was the only way that anyone was going to get out of here without a fight starting with a grumpy Turtle or their being stuck here until Raphael was sober again.  
  
Just hope he appreciates this, Casey sighed inwardly.  
  
He knelt down again so that he and Raph were almost at eye level with one another. As before, the Turtle just looked at his friend with a glazed, confused look in his eyes. He grunted something that Casey couldn't quite make out and waved one arm weakly to usher the human away. Casey could only sigh once as he watched Raphael and prepared what had to be done.  
  
"Sorry pal," Casey said simply.  
  
Before Raphael even had a chance to blink, Casey's fist swept forward and caught him right in the jaw. The blow came at full force, causing the Turtle to expel what food remained in his stomach as he saw stars and fell unconscious. Casey barely managed to get out of the way as he tried to avoid the vomit and sooth the pain that was coming from what he was sure was now a broken hand.  
  
A/N: And there we end it. Once again, I wrote too long a chapter and seriously needed to find a way to shorten it. And since I didn't want to get rid of all the hard work I've put into this chapter, I decided to just cut it in half somewhere. That should make sure it's easier for everyone to follow instead of having you guys try to read it all in one huge lump. But don't worry about the other half, it'll be posted sooner than you think. ;) 


	5. Why me?

Disclaimer: Don't own TMNT. I just own Maggie and my originals.  
  
A/N: All right. Now it's time to get on to what I know will be one of my favorite parts of the story. I really had a lot of fun writing this part of the story. It really gave me a chance to show what a weird sense of humor that I have in somewhat tense situations. If no one knows what I mean, just read ahead and you'll get it. :D  
  
Chapter 5: Why me?  
  
Shit, I forgot how hard his head is. Next time I better just use a 2x4 or something and I won't break my hand, Casey groaned to himself.  
  
He shook his sore fist, trying to alleviate the pain that was steadily running through it. But that only lasted a few seconds before his mind had to turn to preventing more pain from affecting him. It came in the form of Maggie, who had taken those few seconds that Casey used to relieve his pain to get over the shock she felt at seeing her brother punched by his best friend. When she did overcome her shock, Maggie's reaction became nothing less than instinctual and almost brutal.  
  
Letting out a yowl of outrage, Maggie shoved the human away from her prone brother as hard as she could. It really didn't do much, as she had nowhere near the mass and height that Casey possessed. But it was still enough where she could get him to take a few steps away from Raphael so that she could insert herself between the two.  
  
She took her position while Casey was trying to recover from the girl's sudden attack. He was going to ask her what was going on and then stopped short when he saw what Maggie was up to next. Which really didn't turn out to be a very pretty picture as far as he was concerned.  
  
From where she stood, Maggie hissed at the human with full fury, her body already responding to the outrage that was registering in her mind like wildfire. Her fur immediately flared out to its fullest length in an instinctive attempt to make the girl appear larger to her 'opponent' while her ears tilted back in an aggressive posture. Her claws on both feet and hands were unsheathed and extended to their furthest length. At the same time, Maggie was baring her teeth and curving her lips into an lethal snarl that promised Casey Jones intense pain if he dared to come any closer to her and the Turtle she now guarded.  
  
This time, her warning came across clearly to the human, who hastily backed away from her. Needless to say, Casey was quite surprised to see the cat-girl take such a position against him. Though he had seen her upset at her brothers from time to time, he had never seen her like this. When she was in this attitude, Casey thought she actually looked ready to kill something, namely him. And that actually scared the human enough that he wisely kept his distance from his companion until he could find a way to calm her down.  
  
That just better include something that'll keep me from being her latest scratching post, Casey thought as he warily eyed Maggie's sharp claws.  
  
If there was one thing he was certain of when it came to the cat-girl, it was that she knew how to fight with what she had. Though he had never seen her in action for himself, he had seen her handiwork left behind on others and that had not been pretty. Raph himself carried a long scar on his leg that had been received when the two were still young. That scar, though it had been given to Raphael when Maggie was only a child, was a testament to what she could do now as a teenager.  
  
It also proved that her claws could go through even tough Turtle hides without any trouble. And with that as a case, it was a good guess what she could do to human skin with only cloth as protection. Meaning that if Casey made one wrong move, he would be shredded in no time.  
  
"Just take it easy, Magnolia," he said gently, holding his hands up to show he was staying unarmed," I'm not gonna try to hurt ya or anyone else. I just had to do what needed ta be done."  
  
The look her face instantly told Casey that she didn't believe that for one moment. She truly believed that he was lying when he said that. Any trust that she had in him had now dropped well below zero and it was going to take a lot before he could convince her that he was only trying to help.  
  
I'm probably gonna have to become a saint or somethin' before this furball believes anythin' I have to say, Casey thought to himself.  
  
The entire time he was trying to think of something to say or do, Maggie was watching the human man with the utmost scrutiny. She took every motion as a possible threat, every twitch as a sign that he might try to pull a trick on her. Everything was subject to debate until she was completely sure what he was up to.  
  
For Casey, he really didn't know what to think when it came to how Maggie was eyeing him. Even if she was just confused about his intent and was trying to protect her brother, part of him honestly wanted to tell her off. He knew that what he had done was the best course for them all. He knew what would happen if they just tried to stand around this place, trying to coax Raph into cooperating.  
  
Instead of listening to them, Raph would just get frustrated and try to lash out at them. Then in no time at all, they would have a major fight on their hands. Even if he was drunk and extremely disoriented, Casey had the feeling that Raph would still be in command of some of his ninja skills. Someone didn't have that kind of stuff hammered into them from infancy without having at least something become an instinct. Which might have been a good thing if he were really in trouble, but not when the people he was fighting were only trying to help him.  
  
Since she was just an inexperienced kid, Maggie didn't know any of this. She just knew that her brother was drunk and that he needed help. But this time, in trying to help him, there was a finer detail that came with dealing with Raph. She couldn't handle him the way she would if he were sober. That would get her nowhere. She just didn't realize that while Casey did. He knew that she would just end up getting hurt by Raph in the end. And he knew if that happened, then Raph wouldn't be able to forgive himself and Maggie might well lose her trust in him. Good enough reasons in Casey's opinion that he should tell Maggie off in order to get her back under control so they could do this right.  
  
On the other hand, Casey didn't want to do anything that would get Maggie mad enough where she might actually take a swipe at him. If she did, then he knew that he was going to have to defend himself. He knew that she might be able to handle herself in a fight, but he knew that he was definitely more experienced than she was and that gave him an advantage. With that, Casey knew he could do some serious damage to the feline child just as she could to him. Not something he was looking forward to, considering the fact that he would have to explain any harm that came to Maggie to the rest of the family.  
  
Casey knew they would probably be mad enough that he had let Raph go and get himself drunk. They'd probably blow a couple of fuses over the fact that he had just told Maggie and no one else. But he knew that they would all downright kill him if Maggie were harmed in anyway. She was the only girl and the baby of the family and when it came to her safety, her mentor and brothers were very serious. Anyone who crossed the line, even a friend like Casey, was bound to be the receiving end of some major pain.  
  
Or rather, he would be facing more later on. Right now, there was still the threat of Maggie's claws to deal with. He still had no clue as to how he was going to do that. He had already tried acting like he was harmless. That obviously wasn't a ploy that worked on Maggie, who just kept glaring at Casey.  
  
As the seconds ticked off, Casey knew that he was going to have to think of something and fast. The longer they were here, the closer it came to daylight. If they were here until day came, then two things were going to happen. One, they would be unable to travel on the surface as they had before. That meant that they would have to take an alternate route through the sewers, which not something Casey wanted to go through more than he could help it.  
  
The second thing that would occur was that the rest of Maggie and Raph's family would come looking for their missing members. During the late hours of the night, when no one was due to be out on a patrol except for Raph, there was the cover of everyone being asleep. No one would notice that a certain pair of young mutants were missing.  
  
When morning came though and everyone woke up, that was when the trouble would start. Then the rest of the family would find out that Maggie and Raph were gone and would go looking for them. It wasn't certain that they would come looking for the pair in this area, as none of them would have any idea of just where to look. But the fact was that that they would still come searching for their missing family members and it was a good guess that none of the others would be happy at having to do so.  
  
But that was all something to consider later. Right now, it was time to still find a way to calm down the cat before she went berserk on a poor human. Which would have to be soon, because Maggie looked like she really was about to lose it.  
  
Much to Casey's surprise and relief, Maggie chose another route instead of attacking him as he suspected. Instead, she spoke and seemed to be demanding an explanation out of him. One that Casey was glad to give if it meant that he wouldn't end up as a scratching post.  
  
Why'd you do that?! Maggie had finally demanded, jerking a claw at her unconscious sibling.  
  
"I did it 'cause it was the quickest way to help," Casey answered.  
  
How is hurting my brother the quickest way to help?! Maggie snarled.  
  
Taking in the way she was glaring at him and pointing at Raphael's bruised face, Casey rightly guessed that Maggie wanted to know how knocking her brother out helped. Probably in her mind, she saw as a problem. Maybe even as a way of slowing them down as she thought they would have to wake him up again in order to get going.  
  
You are so naïve, kid, Casey thought, You can act tough all you want when you're around your brothers and give me a lifetime of heart attacks in one night, but this time, you're dealing' with something you don't understand.  
  
Wisely, he didn't say any of this aloud. Casey had the feeling that it just might provoke Maggie and send her over the edge. Instead, he would have to use his head for once and try to make things as clear for Maggie as possible. It was really the only way that he was going to get anywhere with her at this point.  
  
"If I didn't knock him out, then he would've kept on arguing with us until he either sobered up again or Doomsday hit. And frankly kid, I don't feel like waiting for either one," Casey explained.  
  
He then waited and watched for a reaction from Maggie. At first, he was sorely disappointed. She just remained as she was, glaring and hissing at him. She showed no outward signs of accepting Casey's explanation. Inwardly however, it was an entirely different story.  
  
On the inside, Maggie was digesting what Casey had told her and as much as she hated to admit it, he really did have a point. Knocking Raph out while he was drunk had been the best route to take if they wanted to avoid a major fight with him. Even when he was sober and in one of his better moods, Raph could still argue up a storm when he wanted to be stubborn. He would never admit when someone else was right and concede defeat to them. He would keep arguing his own point until someone either grew frustrated with him and gave up or they knocked some sense into him the hard way.  
  
Under normal circumstances, that might have been all right. But now, when they were in a place that was known to their enemies and alone without anyone knowing where they were, it wasn't safe to allow that to happen. They had to get out of here and back home as soon as possible.  
  
Maggie knew that and it was one reason why she was so upset. As Casey already suspected, she thought that knocking Raph out would only slow them down. They had to be able to get him to walk on his own two feet while they supported him if they were going to get him out of here at any pace. If he was prone, that meant they either had to stay here until he woke up or they had to carry him out.  
  
But at the same time, even though she was tense and upset, part of her kept siding with what Casey had done. She didn't have to like the fact that he had hit her brother, but it had only been to help him. To help prevent anything else unpleasant from occurring, like it seemed to have been doing all night.  
  
Finally, Maggie decided to take Casey at his word. If he were only doing what he thought best for her brother, then she would accept that. Even if she thought that he could have found a better way to get him unconscious than knocking him out like he had.  
  
She started to calm down, her fur and ears easing back to their original positions as she sheathed her claws once more. The snarl on her face slowly faded away to allow a more accepting expression to take its place. There was still a trace of suspicion of course, but it was only moderately evident at this point.  
  
Now that she wasn't on the warpath anymore, Maggie finally turned her gaze away from Casey and towards her unconscious brother. It was the first time she had bothered to lay eyes on him since he was knocked out. And somewhere deep inside, she was wishing that she didn't have to.  
  
He was a complete mess. His trench coat was in complete disarray, with only arm sleeve still completely in the sleeve while the other was only halfway on the arm. It was stained with the dribble of his beers and traces of the vomit that he had thrown up a few moments before.  
  
The fedora that Raph often wore when he was on the surface now lay on the floor amid the many bottles. It had been knocked off after Casey had punched the Turtle. Like the coat, it was stained from tonight's ventures and would probably take several rounds of washing before it was close to being wearable again.  
  
That much applied to the rest of Raph as well. His body, like his clothing, was caked in sludge from walking in the sewers, beer that had dried on his chin and one cheek, and vomit that was still clinging to his mouth. But these were nothing compared to the one thing that was now drawing Maggie's full attention. That was the bruise she could already see forming around his jaw.  
  
From experience, Maggie immediately knew that where Casey's fist had impacted was most certainly gonna leave a bruise that was already forming. How bad it would be depended on how much force had been used to hit the Turtle. Though judging from the way her brother had literally flown into the wall and how quickly he was knocked out, Maggie guessed that it would end up being pretty bad.  
  
One thing that Maggie knew for certain was that even if it had been to help him, Raph wouldn't be too happy with Casey for hitting him like that. She knew that the first chance he got, her brother would find a way to get back at his friend. Most likely in the form of leaving a few marks of his own when he and the human got into another of their sparring matches.  
  
If he asks me where that mark came from, I'm still gonna tell him, Casey, Maggie warned.  
  
Casey wasn't sure what she had just told him and personally, he really didn't care. He was just glad that Magnolia had calmed down enough that she wasn't going to try to take him apart. So he only nodded to Magnolia when she gave him her warning and left things at that.  
  
Maggie shrugged at his eased acceptance of her warning. If he wasn't worried about what Raph might to do him, then that was his problem, not hers. She had done her best to warn him after all. Whatever came afterwards, he was on his own and that was that.  
  
So what do we do now? she asked.  
  
"We're gonna have to get him outta here and back to your place. That means we gotta lift him," Casey answered.  
  
Maggie nodded, but she already knew that pulling off such a feat would not be easy. She knew how heavy her brothers were and how hard it was to move them by lifting. Each one of them weighed a great deal more than the average human, thanks to the shell that all the Turtles carried on their backs. Add to that a large reptile's natural weight in muscle and bone, and there was a heavy Turtle on one's hands.  
  
Raph would be no exception to this. But with him, there would be the added problem of trying to avoid sticking one's hands onto something disgusting. There was so much sweat, spittle, and beer stains clinging to his body and clothing that it wasn't even funny. Maggie knew for certain she wasn't looking forward to getting that mess all over her paws and she was sure that Casey didn't want it on his hands either.  
  
But I guess we can't get around that unless we hose this idiot down. Hmm, too bad I didn't bring my water gun. That might have worked, Maggie thought with resignation.  
  
"All right, let's get going. I got his head, you take his feet," Casey ordered as he moved closer to Raph again.  
  
Why do I have to take his feet? They stink, Maggie demanded immediately, holding her nose in emphasis.  
  
"His head is the heavy end 'cause its so hard, kid. I don't think you're strong enough to carry that," Casey shrugged.  
  
Somehow, Maggie seriously doubted that. She had the idea that Casey didn't like the smell of Turtle feet anymore than she did and was just trying to find a way to get out of being near them. That made her fur bristle a bit, but Maggie struggled to keep that under control.  
  
We don't have time to argue, she kept reminding herself, We have to get Raph home so we can make sure he's okay. After that, then I can get onto Casey about making me carry the stinky end.  
  
So Maggie just nodded when Casey told her his reasoning. But she gave him a hard look that told him she would get him for this later. She wasn't going to let this pass for nothing and Casey really was an idiot if he thought such.  
  
Her face scrunching up in disgust, Maggie tried to ignore the stink that was rising from her brother's feet as she lifted them up while Casey did the same with Raph's head and shoulders. Instead, she tried to concentrate on bearing her half of the burden and try to keep from dropping him while the two of them tried to adjust carrying his weight. But it truly was hard for someone with such a sensitive sense of smell to ignore something that reminded her fish guts that had been lying in the sun for a week.  
  
I am so gonna have Don make Raph scented soap for when he showers, Maggie thought in disgust.  
  
That was the last truly coherent thought that she was going to have for awhile. After that, all her attention was focused on making sure she didn't drop her end. Which wouldn't be easy, as Raph was heavier than Maggie had expected. Even if she was just carrying his feet.  
  
In the end, the journey back would not be an easy one either human or cat girl. The burden that they carried together greatly slowed their progress and forced them to take the smoothest course possible. Hence, much to Casey's dismay, they were forced to keep to the sewers in order to get back to the lair and to stay unseen by others.  
  
But how they ever managed the journey back would forever be a mystery to Maggie. As the one most familiar with the underground tunnels that was awake, it was up to her to once again navigate their course. That was not particularly easy for her, since she hadn't ever tried to get from the old home to the new one before. That didn't stop her from trusting in her instincts though and with that, plus a major dose of luck, she managed to steer them in the right direction.  
  
The pair was to discover however, that getting back home would be the least of their problems. It was what they have to face there that would be the major challenge. For there were two things that had to be done when they got back. One was getting Raph down the ladder into the lair without dropping and thus badly hurting him.  
  
That was managed when they decided to lower him down on a rope. Since she was more familiar with the lair's layout, Maggie had volunteered to go find the necessary tool. So after gratefully setting Raph down and leaving Casey to watch over him for a moment, Maggie had slid down the ladder and back into her home.  
  
The second problem came when she reached the bottom and was greeted by a most unwelcomed and terrifying sight. For standing at the bottom of the ladder were none other Splinter and the remaining Turtles. Each one of them was wearing an expression of anger that could have very well been potent if it were possible for looks to kill. They were all glaring at the newcomer, who had already started to wish that she could have just stayed in bed.  
  
A/N: Well, well. Looks like these two are really gonna be in for it when Splinter and the guys are done with them. Can't be sure if I should feel sorry for them or just sit back and watch them squirm. Sounds mean I know, but hey, even as a writer, I can feel torn on which opinion I should be siding with.  
  
*starts checking notes* Well, I'm happy to say that chapter 6 of this story is already in the works and should be done sometime within the next couple of months. And I know that I promised a rewritten update for Journey's End, but I'm afraid I have to postpone that until further notice. Classes are going to be starting again next month for me and I need to get ready for that if I'm to be prepared for school. (please shoot me now X_X) But I'll get that out as soon as possible. Until next time, thanks for reading and I hope that everyone enjoyed it. 


	6. Busted!

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything related. I just own Maggie any my originals.  
  
A/N: *sighs* Well, I guess I'm finally back. I'm sorry for the delay in updating this story and all my others, but I really needed some time to sort through all the stuff that was going through my head. Thanks to everyone for their support and understanding. It really means a lot to me.  
  
Chapter 6: Busted!  
  
If it had been possible for her to do, Maggie would have taken the 'ninja vanish' term to a whole new meaning and made herself invisible. It would have been a great deal more convenient than staring into the angry faces of her Sensei and brothers. Unfortunately, it was impossible for even a cat such as herself to pull off such an act. So she was stuck where she was, part of her praying that whatever they did would be swift and painless.  
  
But it was anything but. Instead, she was instantly jumped on by her brothers, who began demanding where she had been, why she had gone out so late, and what had she been thinking. They told her that if she hadn't just come home, they were going out to look for her. They told her that she had had everyone worried. They were telling and demanding so many things that it was impossible for Maggie to get a word of her own in.  
  
So she was just left standing there with them talking until a sharp command from Splinter silenced her brothers. Once they were, he began asking questions of his own. These turned out to be very much like the three Turtles' questions, but they were asked in a more controlled and definitely more authoritative tone that Maggie knew better than to resist.  
  
I.I was with Casey. He needed my help, Maggie eventually answered.  
  
If anything could have taken the anger away from her family's faces, that was it. When they had discovered Maggie missing from her room, they had assumed that she had gone off on her own. It wouldn't have been the first time that she had done something like that. But for her to say that Casey, a man that they all knew she could hardly stand, had come for her help and that she had actually agreed to go, that was a major shock.  
  
"Just why would Casey ask you for help, Magnolia?" Splinter asked, once he had regained his composure.  
  
That was a question that Maggie knew that she should answer, but it was one that she dreaded. She had promised Casey that she wouldn't tell anyone about what was going on until they had Raph safely home. They might have gotten him to the lair entrance, but that wasn't all the way home. So Maggie wasn't sure if she should say anything yet.  
  
"Why did Casey asked for your help, Magnolia?" Splinter demanded again.  
  
Knowing that she had no choice but to answer, Maggie gulped, He, uh, needed me to help him find Raph.  
  
That definitely brought a questioning look to the faces of those around her. Of all the answers that they thought she might give them, that was not among them. Then again, everything that she had been telling them was not what they had been expecting from the girl this evening.  
  
"He lost Raph? You gotta be kidding," Mikey scoffed, only to be silenced by a glare from Splinter.  
  
No. It's true, he needed me to help find Raph. He said he lost him topside, Maggie insisted, B-but we found him. He's okay.  
  
After listening to her explanation, Splinter demanded," Where are your brother and Mr. Jones now, Magnolia?"  
  
Casey's waiting with Raph up there, Maggie gulped as she pointed towards the opening overhead.  
  
That was all that the other needed to know. With a silent nod from their Master, Don headed for the ladder and climbed up while Leo and Mikey waited at the bottom with their sister. Maggie watched them go by her and was almost tempted to follow after them to help on the higher level. But when she caught Splinter glaring at her, she thought better of it. She would stay below and help from there.  
  
Things went swiftly from there. Casey, who had been surprised to find another Turtle coming to help him instead of his feline companion, wisely kept his mouth shut as he helped Don lower Raph down. Below, Leo, Mikey and Maggie were there to take hold of Raph and lower him down the rest of the way. Once they had gotten him down, Don and Casey joined the others below.  
  
Leo and Mike propped their brother up while Splinter got a better look at him. He eyed Raphael critically, taking into account all the stains on his clothing and the bits of vomit that still clung to the Turtle's skin. With quicker ease than Maggie had shown but with the same dexterity, Splinter also caught the scent that still clung to his son. His nose wrinkled slightly when he caught it and that told him all he needed to know as to how Raph came to be this way.  
  
It brought immediate disappointment to Splinter that his son had fallen into such a state. But there was little that could be done about it at present. The act had been completely and it was doubtful that Raphael would be waking anytime soon. The only things that could really be done were to just make Raph comfortable and to leave a bucket nearby in case he woke and was ill. Tasks, that for now, would fall to his brothers to carry out. For while they did that, it would give Splinter a chance to deal with the other parties involved.  
  
"Take your brother to his room and see what needs to be done for him, my sons. I will see him myself after I have dealt with your sister," Splinter ordered.  
  
The other Turtles looked like they wanted to protest when they were told this, but they held their tongues. They knew that their Master meant business when he used that particular tone. He was about to go on the warpath and there was no stopping him when that happened. They already knew that it wouldn't be a pretty sight.  
  
So they did as they were told and prepared to leave. Just as Maggie and Casey had spent a good part of the night doing, Donatello took hold of Raph's upper torso while Leonardo took hold of his legs and feet. With Mikey directing them, they lifted their brother up, bracing as they settled his weight between them. When they had, Don and Leo started to make their way towards Raph's room with Mikey in tow.  
  
On their way out, each of the Turtles directed an angry glare in the vicinity of Casey Jones. The human visibly flinched when he met those gazes. He knew that they were silently blaming him for what was going on, even if they weren't completely aware of all that had happened. They were telling the next time the three Turtles were alone with him, he was going to be in for some serious trouble. They weren't going to let this pass so easily and they were letting him know it.  
  
If anyone else noticed this silent exchange, they gave no acknowledgement. Instead, their attentions were elsewhere. Splinter's attention, once his sons were gone, had turned again to Magnolia. Maggie's attention was caught between staring at her feet and daring to meet her Master's gaze. The former was definitely easier, but the former was necessary to do if she wanted to keep out of any further trouble.  
  
There's no reason to feel sorry for yourself now, Magnolia. You knew that this could happen the second you went with Casey. So stop being such a baby and take it like a real cat, she scolded herself.  
  
But as the saying goes, it is easier to say something than to do it. She may have wanted to face what was to come, but Maggie couldn't help feeling more than a little nervous and scared. She knew what Splinter was like when he was upset about something, both minor and major. And that was never a pretty picture to have, especially when you were the one who had gotten him upset to begin with.  
  
"Do you have any idea how worried everyone was about you?" Splinter demanded.  
  
Her ears lying flat in submission, Maggie could only hang her head at her Master's words. Though she knew that it could quite possibly happen during this mess, the last thing that she had wanted was to worry her Master and brothers in any way. They were the people she cared about most and how they felt towards her meant a great deal to the girl.  
  
I.I was just trying to help, Sensei, Maggie tried to explain.  
  
Off to the side, Casey watched in silence as the girl tried to explain herself. For the moment, he had decided that it was just better to keep quiet and stay out of the line of fire. If he did that, then it meant that he would have a chance to figure out what to say so that he could keep his head.  
  
The longer he watched Maggie getting the brunt of everything though, the harder it was to stick to that decision. He really felt bad for allowing her to take everything when it wasn't entirely her fault. She shouldn't have to do that. Not when he was the one who had talked her into this in the first place.  
  
It just became too much for the human to handle. He knew that he couldn't just let his companion take the heat for what he had started. He had to do something before this went any farther. Even when it meant that he would get his own head bitten off in the process.  
  
"Hey, don't blame the kid for this. It's not really her fault," Casey interjected," I was the one that talked her into helping me find him."  
  
Both Splinter and Magnolia looked at Casey in an instant. Both of them had forgotten that he was even there until now. Now that they remembered, their expressions towards him were entirely different. For Splinter, he felt a mixture of slight surprise and disbelief. He knew that the human had a part in this, but he wasn't entirely sure what that had been.  
  
Maggie certainly couldn't help but once again look at the human in surprise. Was he actually trying to stick up for her? It was certainly a nice gesture, but not really necessary. Even if he was the one who came to her in the first place, Maggie knew that Casey wasn't totally to blame. She had a part in this too. After all, instead of just going off with him, she could have gone to tell the rest of the family what was happening. Then, they could have all helped to find the missing ninja turtle and no one would be getting into trouble. But she hadn't.  
  
She had chosen to go with Casey of her own free will. That meant just as she had gone freely, then she must be willing to take the consequences of her attentions. Even when that included facing the wrath of her Sensei. At the moment however, said Sensei was feeling more than just anger towards his daughter's behavior.  
  
Splinter sighed and rubbed his temple as he felt the headache that had been developing while he wondered about Magnolia worsening. When he had first found her gone, he had had no idea of where she could have gone or why. He knew only that she was missing and could well be in trouble if she were on her own.  
  
Now that Casey was trying to claim responsibility for this, it certainly complicated matters more for the rat. Maggie he had been prepared to deal with, since she was the only one he had thought was missing. With her, it was simply the process of finding out what had been going through her head and just how to handle her afterwards.  
  
What to do with Casey Jones was an entirely different matter. Splinter knew that he held no authority over the human, even in his own home. For starters, he was not one of Splinter's students nor was he a youngster. Casey was a grown man who was free to do as he wished with his time.  
  
Being a grown man didn't always mean that he was very wise in what he did with his days however. How he acted with Raph whenever they went out or when he was with other humans proved that easily enough. And now that he had taken Maggie out of her home without Splinter's permission that only added to the list of immature things that Casey did.  
  
At this rate, Splinter realized he wasn't going to do get anything done if his attention was divided like this. He was going to have to find a way to deal with one thing at a time so that he could make sure everything was taken care of before it got out of hand again. So he decided that it was best to send Maggie to wait while he dealt with Casey.  
  
"I will deal with you in a moment, Magnolia. Go wait in my study," Splinter ordered.  
  
When he used that tone, the girl didn't need to be told twice. Casting a glance at Casey, Maggie hastily bowed to her Sensei and left. The two that remained behind watched her go with mixed emotions. Casey with the sense that he was sorry for having gotten her into trouble and Splinter with anger that she had gone off like she had.  
  
Once Magnolia was out of earshot, Splinter returned his full gaze to Casey. His gaze hardened a great deal more so than it did when he was facing Magnolia. With her, the anger that came in his expressions were out of a parent's concern for the safety of his child. She was still young enough that there someone could easily hurt her if she were captured or cornered.  
  
But in Casey's case, the anger that Splinter now felt flowing through him was that of outrage towards another adult who should have known better. Casey was well into his twenties and he knew the dangers that came from walking about the surface world at night. He should have known that taking in a child into that kind of atmosphere would do her harm.  
  
It didn't matter that Casey had tried to take responsibility when he attempted to stick up for Maggie when Splinter scolded her. As far as he was concerned, Casey should have already done that before any of this happened. He should have been more responsible and come to Splinter, the parent, when his son went missing, instead of going to Maggie, the child.  
  
In the back of his mind, Casey could sense the anger that was rising in Splinter. And that really scared him. Casey had seen how Splinter reacted whenever his sons did something stupid. He knew that though the rat was smaller than any one of them and looked frail, he could more than easily bring the Turtles down a few pegs. He could beat any of them down in a heartbeat and all the Turtles knew it. That was why they were always so nervous about getting on their Master's bad side whenever they went out. They knew a slipup would just end with them getting into trouble.  
  
The Turtles were not alone in being exposed to that particular tone. Maggie too had more than once brought its sternness down upon her head for doing something foolish or for misbehavior. And just like her brothers, she had felt the full sting of it for whatever she had done.  
  
That tone had only been turned towards Casey a few times since he had made friends with Raphael and his family. Those times had been when he had annoyed Splinter somehow in connection with his son and when they went out looking for punks' skulls to punch in. Splinter may have taught his sons how to fight and that they should use their skills to help those in need, but he had not taught them to go out seeking trouble.  
  
When he went with Casey though, that was exactly what as happening. Instead of following what he had been taught, Raph chose to follow his own impulses and to do what he wanted. It hadn't always ended well and more than once brought about Splinter's disappointment.  
  
It had also caused Splinter's irritation towards Casey to grow just a bit more. He had nothing against the human personally, but he knew that the man had a very strong influence on his son's behavior. Splinter knew that influence could very easily get his son intro trouble, as it already had.  
  
I'm a dead man, Casey couldn't help but groan over and over as he looked into Splinter's eyes, I am such a dead man.  
  
"Is there a problem, Mr. Jones?" Splinter asked.  
  
"Guess I don't know where to start," Casey shrugged, feeling incredibly stupid saying that.  
  
"It is often found that the easiest way to explain any story is by starting at the beginning, Mr. Jones," Splinter suggested.  
  
It was so obvious that it felt stupid to hear it from Splinter. Inside, Casey was feeling like such an idiot. Once again tonight, he had managed to make himself look like a fool in Splinter's eyes. Not the best thing to happen when he was already digging himself a grave for taking off with Maggie.  
  
"I lost track of Raph in the crowd and when I couldn't find him, I decided to come back here for help. Out of everyone, the furball seemed like the best one to ask," Casey explained.  
  
"And what reasoning did you use to come to that conclusion, Mr. Jones?" Splinter said coolly.  
  
"Well, uh, the kid knows what Raph smells like, so I thought she'd be able to track him real easy," the human gulped, naturally quelling under the rat's angry gaze," And, since she doesn't argue with him a lot, I thought he might listen to her better if there was any trouble. I mean, he definitely wouldn't listen to Leo's jabbering. Right?"  
  
That last part had been a joke that he had desperately hoped that Splinter might find even the least little bit funny. He was sorely disappointed. Humor was the farthest thing from the rat's mind and expression as he listened to the human's words. If anything, it only seemed to annoy him more.  
  
Which meant that it might be better to try a different tactic. Just what that was supposed to be, Casey had no idea. He really wasn't used to talking to Splinter on a topic like this, or any topic for that matter, so it was hard for him to know just what to say to Splinter. What he had managed to say so far had just been impromptu at best and even then it didn't seem to be helping much.  
  
But it was just enough for now. For despite his present irritation with the man, Splinter listened to Casey's explanation without interruption. He was upset with the human for his part in this, but that would not prevent him from at least hearing Casey's side of things. That much was his right and Splinter would not be rude by ignoring that fact.  
  
So he waited until Casey was finished before he said anything himself. When he spoke, his tone was kept the same as when he was speaking to one of his children after they had been caught during a 'crime'. Almost the same anyhow. There was an obvious difference now that he was speaking with Casey.  
  
"Is that every reason why you asked my daughter for help?" Splinter asked stoically.  
There were a million responses that Casey could have said to answer that question. Many of which were meant to cover both his hide and hopefully Maggie's. But as soon as he tried to say them, his mind went completely blank. Why, he couldn't really be certain.  
  
Maybe it was because he knew that if he tried to just make something up or only tell a half-truth, the rat would know. Somehow, Splinter could always ferret out those sorts of things with immense ease. He certainly did whenever he was questioning his sons about their escapades on the surface.  
  
And if he could do that with his sons, then there was no doubt in Casey's mind that he could do the same with him as well. So it was probably not a good idea to tempt fate and try to lie now. Better to just tell the whole story, be done with and still keep from getting any farther from Splinter's good graces than he already had.  
  
"Well, I knew the kid wouldn't ask a lot of questions until we got started. She'd help me get the job done and wait till later before she started makin' a fuss about stuff," the human replied as confidently as he could.  
  
"So you asked for her help because she knew how to track Raphael and because she would do as she was told and not cause you any trouble," Splinter translated.  
  
Anything further that the human might have had up until that point suddenly fled him when he heard Splinter say that. It wasn't really the last thing that he had been expecting the rat to say, but it certainly wasn't among the foremost things on his list. And it was making him wonder just what he had to say now.  
  
It was true enough though. As well as for the other reasons that he had enlisted her help, Casey really had thought that it would be easier to deal with Maggie since she was a kid and would supposedly do what an adult friend of the family told her. That had been part of the plan anyway.  
  
If only Casey had known earlier that it was the furthest thing from the truth. If anything, Maggie had rarely done what he had told her tonight. Sure she had found the trail for them and led the way to Raph, but there were still those times when she had taken off without telling him. That was enough to make Casey realize that Maggie might have been doing that to help their search, but she wasn't always going to do what he told her.  
  
"After tonight, believe me, that's the last thing I will ever think about that kid," he admitted to Splinter," She gave me enough heart attacks tonight that I know she'll do her own thing instead of listening to me."  
  
"Heart attacks?" Splinter echoed.  
  
If he had been better able to read the rat's emotions, Casey could have sworn that he sounded amused by the very prospect of Maggie causing the human trouble. It certainly would have been justly due for all the trouble Casey Jones had help to cause among the family tonight.  
  
It was a feeling that wasn't even remotely shared with the human. Casey was more surprised than anything else. Oddly, getting this kind of reaction from Splinter reminded Casey of someone else he knew. He had just spent the evening with her, trudging through back alleys and through the sewers, carrying her heavy and unconscious idiot brother home. He had also been stuck with her running off half the time and nearly scaring him to death the rest of the time.  
  
Now I think I know where the kid gets that weird mean streak of hers and it sure ain't from Raph, Casey thought.  
  
Wisely, he didn't mention this feeling. He got the impression that if he did, Splinter just might forget his principles against harming a guest and just knock Casey upside the head with his walking stick. From the way he had seen the Turtles react when they got that retaliation, he knew that once again the rat could pack a punch with that stick.  
  
Instead, he was just going to answer Splinter's question and leave it at that. It would both give the rat what he wanted to know and make sure that Casey still didn't tempt fate again that night. A win-win situation if there ever was one.  
  
"When we were looking for Raph, she took off a couple times without telling me. I think it was 'cause she got a hold of the scent and wanted to be sure," Casey replied," But she never let me know before she took off, so it kinda.startled me when she did that."  
  
That was really a major understatement and Casey knew it. He had nearly jumped out of his skin those times that Maggie had run off and then when she returned and snuck up behind him. But that was just something that he really didn't want to admit to. It would bring down his reputation as a tough guy too quickly and that was just a blow to his ego that Casey couldn't take.  
  
True to his usual demeanor though, Splinter already caught onto what the human was feeling. His next words, as they had so many times before, proved as much. Which only led to Casey's greater embarrassment.  
  
"You were afraid that she might get herself into trouble if she didn't tell you what was going on?" Splinter supplied.  
  
Feeling his cheeks start to get a little hot, despite how hard he was trying to keep himself under control, Casey nodded mutely. He really wished that Splinter would stop doing that. Over and over again when he pointed out what Casey was thinking, it made the human feel like a little kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar.  
  
"If that is the case, then in a way at least, you can understand the fear that I felt when I went to check on Magnolia this evening and found that she was not in her room," Splinter sniffed.  
  
Scratching the back of his head, Casey nodded slowly," Yeah, I guess I kinda did feel that way."  
  
He guessed that might have been the circumstances. It was true that Casey was worried about Maggie while she was with him. He knew that since she was his best friend's little sister, that he would have to keep an eye on her while they were out. That much he was aware of and acknowledged. But that wasn't the only reason why he got so edgy when the girl took off.  
  
Privately, Casey had also been worried about what the rest of Maggie's family might say if she had gotten herself hurt while she was with Casey. Like the feline, he had known that there were certain risks entailed when it came to tracking down Raphael. He knew that they might run into some goons on the way or that they might find Raph in a deeper situation than anyone had anticipated. Both situations that could very easily put a youngster like Maggie into danger.  
  
But because he had been more worried about Raph and making sure that he was still in one piece, Casey had mostly pushed those things aside. At the time, it had seemed like the right thing to do. But now, as he stood here facing what could easily become the irate Sensei of said girl, maybe it might have been better to consider a slightly different course of action.  
  
"Now that you realize this, Mr. Jones, I hope that in the future you will come to me first if there is a problem concerning my sons. I do not appreciate a child being taken into the heavens know what behind my back," Splinter said.  
  
"Yes sir," Casey gulped.  
  
Once again, he was trying to use his head while dealing with Master Splinter. Somehow, it seemed best just to treat him with the utmost respect and pray that it might placate him even a little. That last part was very farfetched, but it wasn't too bad an idea. Anything that Casey tried now just might have prolonged his life for a bit longer than if he didn't try.  
  
Splinter sensed this feeble attempt to make amends and he was willing to accept it. It didn't mean that he was completely willing to forgive Casey right away, but he was still willing to accept this as a start. At least it meant that the human was using his head for once.  
  
Perhaps it is better for it to happen now than later, Splinter thought to himself.  
  
He didn't say anything about that now though. No matter how appropriate it was, it would be rude to say so to a guest. Better to let him either figure it out on his own or just remain in ignorance. Instead, he decided that now might be a good time to both end this conversation and to put down the one restriction that he had the power to put upon Casey Jones.  
  
"Perhaps it would be wise if you refrain from visiting us for a time, Mr. Jones. I think my children are going to need some time to think about what's happened and your presence might cause a distraction for them. That is not something they will be needing for now," Splinter sniffed.  
  
There was no mistaking what the rat was telling Casey this time. He knew that until Splinter was feeling better towards him, that it wouldn't be safe for him to come around the Turtles' home for awhile. Not that it would be safe for him even then, considering the dark looks that Leo, Don, and Mikey had given him before they had carried Raph off.  
  
Just like their brother, those three could easily hold a grudge for a long time when they wanted to. And just like Raph, they could be very nasty when it came time to take that grudge out on something. But unlike Raph, they didn't just rush into it and settle things with a few punches.  
  
Those three could get downright serious when they wanted to take a grudge out to its fullest. They thought out what they wanted to do, making sure they got the details just right. Then and only then, would they strike and take out the grudge on the one who had started everything. Knowing all this, Casey had the feeling that the next few months for him would be uneasy at best.  
  
"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, sir," Casey nodded.  
  
"Then I wish you a good evening, Mr. Jones. I am sorry that I cannot show you out, but I need to attend to my children. I am sure you understand," Splinter sniffed.  
  
"Yeah, I do. Don't worry about me," Casey said hastily," You just go on and take care of Raph. I'll be okay getting out on my own."  
  
Splinter only nodded and then turned to leave. He made a direct course for the train car that was his study. There he would first deal with his daughter's mistakes and then give her the necessary punishment. Afterwards, he would deal with Raphael.  
  
Casey watched him go for a few seconds before turning to make his own escape. Part of him was actually surprised that he had managed to get out of this so easily. Well, if one could call a silent death threat from a Turtle trio and being warned off by a ninja master rat getting off easy. Which it really was, considering that those same certain people could have easily turned him into a bloody pulp the second everything had been sorted out.  
  
A/N: Sorry to say it, but that's all I'm going to put up for now. I've got a bunch of other stuff going on right now, mostly school, and I don't have the time that I would like to work on my fics. But I'll get around to it eventually. And once again, thank you all for your patience about my updating. I do appreciate it. 


	7. You know better

Disclaimer: Don't the TMNT or anything associated. I just own Maggie.  
  
A/N: Heya everyone and welcome to the chapter that almost wasn't. For awhile, I considered just skipping over what happened to Maggie after she got back home and just letting everyone find out what happened to Raph since I've kept ya in the dark about his situation for so long. But the more I thought about, the more unfair it seemed that I didn't get to her side of things. After all, she's been such an important part of the story so far, it just wouldn't be right to cut Maggie out right now.  
  
Maggie: *snorts* You just wanna show everyone what I do when I'm about to get into trouble.  
  
Okay, okay. That too. But you gotta admit, Maggie, it is kinda funny to see you squirm sometimes. You're the only person I know who can pull off that thing you do with your ears.  
  
Maggie: *death glare* Don't even go there, Streetwyse. Don't even go there. I get enough of that from Mikey, I don't need it from you.  
  
Whatever pussycat. I still think it's funny. Well, as said, welcome and enjoy the chapter that almost wasn't and we'll see everyone at the end.  
  
Maggie: Don't call me pussycat!  
  
Chapter 7: You know better  
  
She had no idea what was going on outside Splinter's study. Even with her sharper hearing, she wasn't able to make out whatever her Sensei was saying to Casey. And somehow, she had the feeling that she really didn't want to even if she had been able to.  
  
Besides, eavesdropping would have only gotten her into more trouble if she was caught. Maggie was in enough of that to know that she didn't need more. She was going to be lucky to be able to deal with what she was going to get once Splinter finished with Casey.  
  
Maggie had nervously been awaiting Splinter's coming ever since he had sent her to his study. She knew that she was really going to be in for it this time. For not only she had left home without telling her father, but she had gone to the surface without his permission. Those were both serious offenses in her family and always came with heavy consequences for an offender.  
  
It was not often that Maggie was the one who suffered from such things. Normally, that sort of thing fell to her brothers. They were the ones that spent their free nights roaming the streets above looking for a fight or someone in trouble. Normally, Maggie was the one, due to her age, who had to stay home and out of trouble.  
  
Sighing to herself as she bowed her head, Maggie thought, I sure didn't keep my tail out of the fire tonight. I just made a mess out of this. Now Sensei's gonna ground me or something and I know the guys aren't gonna let me live this down either. Leo's probably gonna be just as bad Master Splinter, 'cause I know he'll lecture me like crazy.  
  
Maggie suddenly tensed when she sensed her Sensei's approach. Because she kept her head bowed, she had not seen him enter. But she had heard him when he opened the door and then slid it closed again. That and his quiet footsteps were the only clues one might have that she was no longer alone.  
  
She dared not meet his eyes when he came in, for she already knew what would be waiting to greet if she did. There would not doubt be the pains of outrage and disappointment staring back at her. Even if she was prepared for it, that was the one thing that she didn't want to have to face. Not when it was located in the eyes of one whose opinion and judgement meant so much to her.  
  
At the moment, those very eyes were watching the nervous motions the girl was making. Within them, there was more happening than anything Magnolia would have suspected. For in Splinter's heart, there was a gateway leading to the conflict between two emotions that had his heart in a deadlock.  
  
One side of him, the part that had been completely worried for his daughter's safety, just wanted to take her into his arms and embrace her. That was the side of him that just wanted to protect his child from all harm and keep her that way. The other part of him felt no such thing. Just as Maggie suspected, it was the outrage and disappointment towards what she had gone and done. He had taught her better than to do foolish things like this and he had hoped that such lessons would stay in her mind at all times. But it seemed as if this had been proven wrong.  
  
Shaking his head, Splinter took a seat on a mat opposite his daughter. He took a few seconds to compose himself and to prepare what he had to say. Doing so would help him with what he had to do next.  
  
"Casey has told me what he said to you and why you went with him," Splinter said evenly," But I also want to hear what you have to say, young one. I want to know what you were thinking when you did this."  
  
Maggie slowly lifted her head, taking her Master's words as a signal to look up. Her ears laid back as she did so, a clear display of the nervousness that racked her entire form. She dared to glance at Splinter directly and found that his face was mostly what she had been expecting. And that only helped to make it harder for her to speak.  
  
She remembered what she had told herself earlier and honestly tried to use that to force herself to tell Splinter what he wanted to hear for a second time. But like before, it was just so hard to get this out. The words just kept getting stuck, refusing to come to her hands so that she could speak with her Master.  
  
"Go on," Splinter prompted.  
  
That was just enough to get her started. Finally, Maggie found the words that she was looking for. They came slowly at first, as she kept considering what she should say, but they picked up eventually and Maggie could tell Splinter what he wished to know.  
  
I.I just wanted to help Raph, she stammered, Casey said that he would get into a lot of trouble if we didn't try to find him right away. I couldn't just let that happen. He's my brother. He'd do the same thing for me if I were in trouble.  
  
She looked straight at her Master as she spoke. Even with the fear and uncertainty that she felt deep within herself, she knew that that was the only way she would be able to get the words out. The only way that she would ever get this off of her chest and maybe get rid of the nervousness that clung so hard to her.  
  
Splinter couldn't help but sigh as he listened to the girl. He knew that Maggie had had the best of intentions when she told him she went to help her brother. Even when she was mad at them, she always wanted to help her brothers when they were in trouble. She had a strong sense of family loyalty that could easily rival any one else in their small clan and she always acted on it if she felt someone she loved was threatened.  
  
That loyalty was a good quality that any parent would readily encourage in their child. For with that, powerful bonds could be created that could last anyone through even the hardest of times. But that only worked to a certain point. Sometimes, though it seemed unlikely, it was possible to be too loyal to others. Loyalty and concern for others in great quantities could easily make it possible for one to forget their own safety in a quest to help others.  
  
To forget one's own safety, especially for someone as young as Maggie, could very well lead to dire consequences. Which was not an option that Splinter even wanted to think about. If he did, it would only help to bring one of his greatest fears to the surface of his mind.  
  
That was the fear that he might lose one of students to the upper world's dangers. He had dealt with such a thing since all of them had been very young. During the early days, it was easier to deal with because he had more control over where the young ones went and was able to keep them in relative safety.  
  
As they grew older however and gained more freedom, that became more difficult. Starting with the Turtles, they would range beyond previous boundaries and head into places unknown even to Splinter. In those areas, the unknown could either prove to be wondrous or deadly. Just another reason for a father to worry about his family's safety.  
  
"I am not upset with you for being concerned about your brother, Magnolia. I would never do that. They are your brothers and you care about their wellbeing," Splinter sighed," But I am upset that you would do something so dangerous without even thinking about the consequences."  
  
I know, Master. I'm sorry. I just wanted to help, Maggie said as she bowed her head yet again.  
  
Cupping Maggie's chin in his hand and tilting her head so that their eyes met, Splinter scolded gently," Wanting to help your brothers is fine, Magnolia, and there is nothing wrong with it. But at the same time, you must also consider what will happen when you try to help them."  
  
Maggie's ears perked up at his words. She straightened a little and lifted her head away from Splinter's hand. In her heart, she knew perfectly well what her Sensei was referring to. He meant that she should look at the bigger picture instead of just seeing what was only in front of her.  
  
"If you simply jump into a situation without thinking, you may end up making things worse instead of helping it," Splinter continued, confirming the girl's thoughts," You can also make something worse by going off without alerting others to the problem. If you do that, there is no way for others to know if you need help or not, or if you are all right. They will worry for you, as your brothers and I did tonight."  
  
I-I'm sorry that I made you guys worry, Master. I am, Maggie sighed.  
  
"I know that you are and I know that in the future, you will try to consider things more fully before you act," Splinter nodded.  
  
Yes, Maggie promised.  
  
A strange expression spread over the rat's face as his daughter spoke. It was something of a cross between sadness, wistfulness, and slight regret. Why it was there or what was the cause, Maggie had no idea. But in a way, she couldn't help but think that she was somehow the cause of it.  
  
"Sometimes I suppose that it is possible for a parent to worry too much about his children's ability to handle the world," he sighed," Especially when those children are nearly grown and must learn to take control of their own lives. There is just so much to worry about that one cannot help but feel that way."  
  
Maggie really wasn't sure what she should say to that if anything. She thought that her Master was making more of a statement to himself than to her. If that was the case, then it was better not to say anything. So she decided to keep silent and wait to see what Splinter did next before doing anything herself.  
  
Like herself, Splinter spent the next few moments in silence. He was thinking of his last words and what it meant to him as a father. He probably wouldn't admit to everything he felt on the subject, but it did hurt Splinter that his youngest child was finally growing up. Like her brothers before her, she was no longer the little one that she had once been. She no longer depended on him as she once had and was making decisions all her own. Some of them, like the ones that she had made tonight, were not always among the best choices. But they were still hers to make and she was learning to cope with what came of them.  
  
Splinter couldn't help but sigh to himself as he considered this. It was a sad fact but one he had come to accept. That was a part of life that could not be changed even if one wanted to do so. Nor could the fact that Maggie, no matter how good her intentions, was going to have to be punished for breaking the rules.  
  
Her Master already had an idea of how he would handle that part. He had considered it after he had left Casey to see himself out and came towards his study. It wasn't entirely worked out, as no such thing could be done is such a small amount of time. But he had enough in mind for now that it would keep Maggie out of trouble until he could finalize everything.  
  
"Magnolia, I know that what you did was to help Raphael. Nonetheless, you still broke several rules and you know that that cannot be allowed," Splinter began.  
  
Yes Master. I know that, Maggie agreed.  
  
"For now, you're grounded for two weeks," he said," During that time, you will stay in your room unless you are at practice or doing chores. Is that understood, young one?"  
Bowing her head, Maggie answered, Yes Sensei.  
  
"I will also excuse you from this morning's practice so you may rest," Splinter said," I know that you are tired from being out so long and need to sleep. But to make up for this, I expect you to be an hour early for afternoon practice for the rest of the week. All right?"  
  
Yes Sensei, Maggie answered.  
  
"Good," Splinter nodded," You may go to your room now, young one. We will finish this discussion after you have rested."  
  
A/N: *glances at Maggie* Now was that really so bad, Maggie?  
  
Maggie: *gives a half-glares* Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I have to like the fact that you wrote this chapter.  
  
Whatever, kitty cat. ;P  
  
Maggie: Don't call me kitty cat either!  
  
Yeesh. Talk about picky. 


	8. You're an idiot

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything related. I just own Maggie any my originals.  
  
A/N: *sits in recliner* Hey everyone. Sorry it took so long to get an update, I just wanted to take a break from writing for awhile.  
  
Leo: That's still no excuse to leave everyone hanging like that, Streetwyse. I bet they really wanted to know what happened to Raph after you had us carry him off while Master Splinter dealt with Maggie and Casey.  
  
*glances at Leo* I had a feeling you'd bother me about that. So I got a little security measure to make sure you'd leave me alone.  
  
Leo: And what's that? You're gonna sic Maggie on me again? Sorry, but that's getting a little old, Streetwyse. You're going to have to come up with something a bit more original than my little sister.  
  
Oh, I know that. Besides, why bother with Maggie when I have something even Splinter's scared of?  
  
Leo: *looks slightly nervous* What could you have that could possibly scare Master Splinter?  
  
*whistles* POOPSIE!  
  
Poopsie: *unnaturally cute pink and white bunny with blue dishpan sized eyes appears* Hiya! I'm Poopsie the Indestructible Bunny. Wanna be my friend, Mr. Turtle-wurtle? We could share our toys and take turns and sings happy songs. All the fun-fun stuff that makes the world go round!  
  
Leo: *screams and runs out with Poopsie hopping after him* STREETWYSE!!!!!! GET THIS THING AWAY FROM ME!  
  
*already sound asleep* ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  
  
Chapter 8: You're an idiot  
  
There was no description in the world that could accurately illustrate what he was feeling right now. All at once, inside and out, it felt as if every part of him was made of lead and weighed a ton. And that felt like it would weigh him down forever, keeping him locked in place even if he wanted to move about. Which he didn't, since it would just be a mistake that would make him feel worse.  
  
Opening his eyes turned out to be another mistake when he tried accomplishing that. Not only was the world around him too bright, but everything was fuzzy and out of place. This sight made him dizzy and caused his stomach to feel queasier than before. Even more so when he realized that there was a distinct shape moving his way.  
  
His eyes attempted to focus on the shape, but the image remained blurred. All that he could reasonably make out was a large blob of green with bits of orange interspersed in different areas. It took a few seconds, but these colors and their placement eventually registered in Raph's mind.  
  
He recognized these as signs that his brother Michaelangelo had joined him. But that was about as much as his brain was willing to register. Anything else was just too much for his torpid mind to handle and just fell short of being recognized.  
  
Michaelangelo on the other hand, had no such troubles. He was perfectly capable of recognizing his brother and more. He could see that his brother was just barely awake and that he wasn't fully capable of perceiving the world around him. Something he was going to use to his full advantage while he was there.  
  
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to wake up," Mikey replied dryly.  
  
Raph just grumbled something in Mikey's general direction as he tried to bury his head under a pillow. He really didn't want to listen to anything Mikey might have to say. Not while his head felt like it was about to split open any minute. Hearing his voice just made it feel worse.  
  
And it continued to do so, as Mikey had no intention of leaving his brother to suffer through his 'pain' alone. Far from it. In fact, he intended to stay right where he was and continue to talk. He was going to let Raph know exactly what he felt right now, whether his brother wanted to hear it or not.  
  
"You know, I really thought that you were gonna end up sleeping for a couple of days from the way you were snoring," Mikey continued.  
  
From beneath his pillow, Raph grumbled a second time at Mikey's words. What they were was lost on the other Turtle, as they were completely muffled thanks to the pillow covering his head. But that really didn't matter, since Mikey already had a good idea of what his sibling was trying to tell him. Not that he really cared, as he wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon. He was planning on staying right where he was.  
  
Though he didn't know it, that plan turned out to work for both parties. Despite his headache, Raph had finally decided to give up on trying to get Mikey to shut up. Even as clogged as his brain felt right now, he knew how stubborn his younger brother could be. Once Mikey set a goal for himself, no matter how miniscule it might seem, he wouldn't let anything get in his way. Even an irate and greatly disoriented brother who was caught between throwing something at him or just going back to sleep.  
  
Of course, doing either of those things wouldn't have been very easy for Raph to accomplish if he had chosen to go through with them. Throwing something at Mikey involved being able to move and coordinate at the same time, neither of which he could pull off right now. And as for falling asleep, thanks to his headache, that really wasn't possible either.  
  
So he was left with the option of just lying there and letting Mikey continue whatever jabbing he wanted to do. It was certainly easier to handle than the other two and didn't require any effort on his part. Which was actually a good deal, since his head and body still protested if he did anything else.  
  
Raph was so caught up in his internal debate, that he never noticed that he and Mikey were no longer alone. When Leo and Donnie had shown up too, Raph had no idea. Not that he really cared to begin with. He was still more concerned about making his headache go away than worry about what his brothers were doing in his room. But it might have helped if he had forgotten that for just a moment.  
  
If he had, then he would have noticed the dark looks that the newcomers were sending his way. The ones that Don was sending were moderate at best, since he was trying to keep himself calm for now. The ones being sent by Leo however, those were a different story.  
  
These were among the most scornful that the blue-bandanna wearer had ever been able to muster. In his eyes were reflected the disbelief and outrage that came from knowing what his brother's actions had led to. But there was also the knowledge of what could have been and that only helped to fuel the emotions burning inside of him.  
  
Eventually, Raph did realize that Leo was glaring at him from across the room. How long his brother had been there or even when he had entered was something Raph neither knew nor cared about. He just knew that Leonardo was staring at him and that that was starting to get on his nerves.  
  
"What are you staring at?" Raph grumbled.  
  
Leonardo didn't answer his brother at first. Instead, he just stood there, glaring at Raph with such intensity that it could have easily burned holes right through his fellow Turtle. But this went entirely unnoticed by Raphael, who had turned his attention away from Leo to getting the remaining crust from his eyes.  
  
"I hope that you're satisfied with yourself. You've really gotten Maggie into a mess this time, Raphael," Leonardo finally growled.  
  
Two things caught Raph's attention at that point. One was the tone that Leonardo used. Even when he was mad at Raph, it wasn't like him to growl like a predator about to make a kill. Instead, he usually just took on that annoying 'Sensei's Pet' tone, the one that made him sound so much like Splinter, added in a touch of anger, and then would use that to either bore Raph to death or drive him to snapping back at his brother. Though most of the time, his reaction was more of a cross between the two instead of one alone.  
  
The second thing was that he had mentioned something happening to Maggie. No matter what state his mind was in, if someone mentioned trouble and Maggie's name in the same sentence, that always set alarms off in Raphael's head. If anything serious happened to the girl, then that was definitely worth his attention.  
  
Ignoring the wave of dizziness that hit him when he moved his head, Raph turned in Leo's direction. He tried to focus on his brother more to better understand what he was staying, but it was too hard for him. So he just settled for the blur that now represented Leo and left it at that.  
  
"What does Maggie have to do with anything?" Raphael grumbled irritably.  
  
"She's got everything to do with it, Raphael," Leonardo snapped," She could have been really hurt last night and it was all because you were acting like an idiot. I can't believe you would do something like this."  
  
His tone was becoming dangerous now and it was apparent that Leo was desperately fighting to keep control of himself. But oh, how hard it was for him to accomplish that task. If there was one thing that he really wanted to do right now, it was to just let go and really give Raphael what he deserved right now. That would have been so nice for Leo to do.  
  
At the same time though, he knew that such a thing was nearly impossible. Leonardo had been taught his entire life to keep control of his emotions and not to let them take control of him in times of crisis. During times like that, he needed to keep a cool head so that he would be able to act in his top form and be able to do what was necessary.  
  
Still, it would have felt so good just to forget all that and to let Raphael have what he really deserved. Not only would it be teaching his idiot brother a lesson, but it would make Leo feel better too. Unfortunately for him, that was not to be the case. Even if might not have been earned, there was someone looking out for Raph at the moment.  
  
That someone was none other than Donatello. Since his arrival, he had been silent and just watched Raph lying practically prone in his bed. He had no intention of speaking to his sibling at the moment since he knew that he really wouldn't get an intelligent response and he was still just too mad at him for all this.  
  
When he saw the way that Leo was acting however, Don decided that it might be better to rethink his plan of silence. It wasn't going to help matters if his eldest brother went crazy on them. Nor would it change anything, since everything had already happened.  
  
"Just calm down, Leo. You're gonna blow right out of your shell if you keep this up," Don warned from his corner.  
  
Leonardo just glared at his brother for that. He was in no mood for someone else to try and talk reason to him. Right now, despite himself, all he wanted to do was to allow his emotions to break the control that he normally held over them and let loose completely. And the one he wanted to let his fury loose on was Raphael.  
  
No matter how much might have wanted that to happen though, it wasn't meant to be. Even if he wasn't in the mood to, Donatello once again seemed to come to his erring brother's rescue. He was just as upset with him as Leo was, but he was being more controlled about the matter. Don knew that it might have felt good to give Raph the knockdown he deserved, but it wouldn't make things better.  
  
If anything, it would only make matters worse. If Leo started going off on Raph, then that was bound to attract unwanted attention from Splinter. And if Splinter came in, then they were all going to be in for it, not just Raphael.  
  
Even if he was angry with his son, Splinter had made it very clear to the others that they weren't to take punishing him into their own hands. As their Sensei and parent, that was his job. He was the one that set the rules for the youngsters to follow and live by. To forget that and to try to take justice into one's own hands would end up bringing the wrath of the rat down upon them once he found out.  
  
Having lived through that fate more than once in his life, Donatello was in no mood to repeat the experience. He was going to make certain that Splinter's instructions were followed even if it killed him. Which might just happen if he managed to be the one getting on Leo's bad side instead of Raph. But it was a chance that he was willing to take if it meant to avoid Splinter's anger.  
  
"Look, I'm upset with what happened too, Leo. We all are, but that doesn't mean we have to go ballistic about it," Don said, moving closer to his brother just in case he did lose control.  
  
"My baby sister was alone on the surface in the middle of the night with just one human to protect her if there was trouble. She could have been hurt or worse if the Foot had found them. How else am I supposed to react, Donatello?" Leonardo demanded angrily.  
  
They started arguing after that about Maggie's safety and who was supposed to be responsible for taking care of her. It soon became a blur to Raphael, who's hangover headache seemed to have tripled in the last few moments thanks to all the noise around him. He tried to concentrate on easing that before moving onto anything else. But it turned out to be a waste of time, as his headache had no intention of lessening anytime soon.  
  
"Could someone please tell me what he's been yakkin' about?" Raph eventually asked.  
  
He really didn't expect an answer from anyone. His voice had been so low that it didn't seem like anyone would hear him. For the most part, this was true. Leo and Don were so wrapped up in their argument that they didn't have hear what their brother said even if it had been in a normal tone. But that didn't mean it went entirely unheard.  
  
Despite the low tones his brother was using, Michaelangelo heard what Raphael said. He really didn't want the task of explaining what was going on to his brother, but he knew that there wasn't much choice. With Leo and Don so occupied with arguing, there was certainly no one else present to give out answers.  
  
How come I'm always the one who has to clean up the messes Raph makes when no one else will? Mikey thought, having no clue that his sister had been thinking the same thing the night before.  
  
And just like his sister, this wouldn't be the first time that he would have to explain something that came from his brother's mistakes. He had done so many times over the years when Splinter wasn't present and no one else was willing to talk to Raph at the moment. Unlike the other times though, where he was either tolerant or sympathetic, Mikey was feeling nothing but outrage as he prepared to answer Raph's questions.  
  
He honestly thought that this occurrence was one of the dumbest things that his brother had ever done. And the fact that their little sister had been roped into finding him while everyone else remained oblivious to the situation really didn't help matters. In fact, it really made the normally easy-going Turtle feel like bashing his thick-skulled brother's head in. But even with these feelings of violence brewing in his head, that didn't mean that Mike would withhold the answers that Raphael was asking for.  
  
"Casey came here last night and talked Maggie into helping him track you down after you and he got separated at that bar," Mike explained," She went with him and then helped him bring you back here after they found you drunk and lying around the old sewer den."  
  
Dumbfounded, Raph said slowly," You're kidding, right?"  
  
"Not on your life, bro," Mike said, shaking his head," They were gone for most of the night and no one even knew where they were until Splinter caught them coming in about 4 this morning."  
  
"But.But Maggie's a good kid, Mikey. She doesn't just go off without telling someone where she's goin'. That's not like her," Raph protested.  
  
Which was true enough as far as Raphael was concerned. Though she was nowhere near being a perfect student and child like Leo was so often portrayed, Maggie was still one of the better-behaved kids in the family. She hardly ever got into trouble the way her brothers did. She was the one that did what Splinter told her and obeyed the rules like a daughter was taught to do.  
  
"Well, she did this time," his brother responded," And its because Casey asked for her help to find you and no one else's."  
  
Hearing all this brought two emotions out in Raph once the information had a chance to soak in. Part of him was grateful to Casey for finding someone to help out and to make sure that he had gotten home in one piece after getting drunk. He was glad that there was someone to watch his back when he wasn't able to. But the other side of him was furious at his human friend for putting Magnolia into possible danger and wanted to go bust him in the face for doing something like that. If they had run into the Shredder's goons while they were out on the search, then neither Maggie nor Casey would have stood much of a chance.  
  
Damn, no wonder Leo wants my head on a platter, Raph thought ruefully, Maggie could've gotten into real trouble 'cause of me. Well, more trouble than she already has.  
  
Which could be considered true enough. Even at thirteen, Maggie had her share of problems in life. Not only was she the only girl in a family of boys, but the only female friend that she could relate to was nearly a decade older than she was. Plus, there was the constant training as a warrior and never being able to hang out with people her own age to consider.  
  
This was definitely enough to put a strain on anyone. But for a kid Maggie's age, it was enough that sometimes it seemed for certain that she would crack under the pressure. And if someone like Maggie did give into the pressure, there was any number of disasters that can happen. Those were possibilities that Raph wouldn't wish on anyone or would want to even think about when it came to Maggie.  
  
His little sister could be a major pain in the shell sometimes. She might stick her nose into his business when it wasn't her place to do so or get him into trouble for something that he may or may not have been responsible for. Plus, there were all the secrets she had gathered over the years about Raph and the other Turtles.  
  
That information included everything from embarrassing childhood moments they had thought forgotten by everyone but themselves to crimes they had been at recently. Whatever it might be, it was something that Maggie could easily use to blackmail someone with. And when it came to blackmailing, Maggie never did anything lightly and used her gathered tidbits to go for the big prizes.  
  
Despite how much of a pain Maggie could be, Raphael did care a great deal for his younger sibling's wellbeing. She was someone that he knew could be counted on to keep a secret or to offer him an understanding ear if he ever needed to talk with someone. Even when he acted like an idiot, she didn't jump to conclusions about anything until she heard everything that had happened.  
  
She accepted Raphael for what he was, faults and all. Even when she was mad at him herself, she didn't tell him that he should be any different. Just like Splinter, Maggie accepted Raph for all that he was, faults and all. And why shouldn't she? No one in this world was perfect, including her.  
  
Maggie had faults of her own, both those that she would admit to and those that she would deny. She knew that she could be a bit of a brat sometimes and that she could truly annoy her brothers when she wanted to. But that was a part of her personality and the job description that came with being a little sister. It was what she was, who she was, and what she was supposed to do. And Raph knew that even when he was mad at her, he wouldn't have his sister any other way.  
  
After all, being the way she was what made her so special to him. Maggie gave Raph a different set of eyes to see the world through, an understanding that only she seemed to possess. That understanding was that of someone who still held the slightest bit of innocence in her soul and could see that people had some good in them.  
  
But that innocence was what often led people to underestimate just how much Maggie understood of the world around her. For just every once in awhile, Raph was certain that he caught a glimpse of something burning in his sister's eyes. It was a maturity that he had no idea that she possessed. Where it came from and how she even had access to it, he had no idea. What he did know was that more than once it had helped Maggie to understand a situation better than many others.  
  
Yet for all her understanding and hidden maturity, Maggie was still just a kid. There was still much of this world that she didn't yet comprehend and that she would have to adjust to in her own time. That was how her brothers had done before her and so many others before them.  
  
The path to that sort of thing was littered with many obstacles. Those obstacles were often the mistakes that a person made when entering a new situation or handling something unfamiliar. That was obviously what had happened to Maggie the night before.  
  
Which brought other thoughts to Raphael's mind. If something had happened to Maggie last night, then something had obviously happened after once everyone found out. Which led to the question of just what that was and just where his sister was now.  
  
"So what happened to her?" Raph asked.  
  
"As far as we know, Splinter grounded Maggie and asked Casey not to come around here for awhile," Mike shrugged.  
  
"That's it?" Raphael said, temptingly close to feeling annoyed with his brother," That's all you know about what happened to Maggie?"  
  
"Yeah, it is. It's all that Master Splinter would tell us," Mikey answered.  
  
He ignored the tones that he sensed in Raph's voice. He knew that that was just his brother's normal personality poking through the effects of the alcohol he had ingested the night before. It was a good sign in a way, since it meant that he was starting to get sober again.  
  
"Why didn't you ask about it?" Raph demanded.  
  
Mikey just gave him a look that obviously said 'Are you kidding me?' He honestly couldn't believe that Raph would ask him such a thing. After all these years of living under Splinter's care, he really should have known what the answer would be.  
  
"You wanna ask Sensei something when he's in a killing mood, bro? Then be my guest," Mikey snorted.  
  
To his surprise, Raph retorted," Fine, then I will."  
  
With a deep grunt and a great deal of effort on his part, Raphael started to push himself up and off the bed. As soon as he did so, he began to regret doing so. His body began to send immediate protests, making it clear to Raph just what it thought about what he had planned.  
  
His arms and legs still felt like lead and were continually threatening to weigh him down. His head still felt like it was about to split in two at any second, while his stomach felt like it was already doing more flips than he had done in a lifetime. It was almost enough that he almost decided to forget going to find out about Maggie and just lying down again. But remembering what his sister had gone through for him and how she had stuck to it, Raphael ignored his impulse. Instead, he forced himself out of bed and to his feet.  
  
During the entire operation, Mikey couldn't help but watch his brother with a mixture of surprise and only slight admiration. From the way he looked last night, he really hadn't been expecting Raph to wake up, let alone get out of bed, in the next few days. He thought, from hearing Don and Splinter talk, that he was just going to spend those days in bed battling the queasiness and disorientation that came with a hangover.  
  
Now it seemed, that suspicion had just been proved wrong. That probably came from Raph's deeply innate sense of stubbornness and determination to get what he wanted. And right now, what he seemed to want was to get out of bed and probably out of the room.  
  
It'll be major accomplishment if he manages to haul his shell passed the bedpost, Mikey thought wryly.  
  
He watched as his own words were soon proven true. It took a little longer than Mikey expected, as Raph was constantly having to stop and reorient himself before he could really get anywhere. But he eventually made it to the bedpost, where he again took a few seconds to get his bearings and then started for the door.  
  
All the while, Mikey continued to watch his progress. He made no move to aid his brother. Mikey wasn't in the mood to help someone he was holding a bit of a grudge against. If Raph wanted to go anywhere, then he was going to have to do it on his own. That was to become a feeling that was shared by his two other brothers when they finally took notice as well.  
  
Beforehand, Leo and Don had been too caught up in their own argument to notice what their brother was up to. After awhile though, they found themselves forgetting their own differences and watching Raph with the same emotions that Mikey had been. With the exception of Leo of course, who was still glaring at his brother with the same venom as before.  
  
"You shouldn't be up yet, Raph. You're just gonna make yourself sick again," Don warned, the doctor in him taking over the angry brother side.  
"Don't care," Raphael grumbled.  
  
"Where are you going?" Leo asked after a moment had passed and Raph had barely made any progress.  
  
"I told Mikey already. I'm going to talk to Splinter, so I can find out about Maggie," his brother answered.  
  
He didn't look at his brothers as he made his way to the door. That would only make him dizzy again and that would just slow him down. He didn't have time for that right now. He had to get out of here and find Splinter so that he could get the information that he wanted.  
  
That of course, was going to take some work. Even in the state he was in, Raph knew that. He had the distinct feeling that Splinter wasn't exactly going to be happy with him at the moment and just might give his son a similar reception to the one that the other Turtles had already given to Raphael.  
  
Before he was to find that out however, a voice called to Raph. Though he didn't want to be delayed, he turned to see who it was. It was none other than Mikey, who had been silent for the entire trip from the bed to where he was now.  
  
"Hey Raph, before ya go, I just wanna say one more thing," Mikey replied.  
  
"What?" Raph asked.  
  
"If you ever get Maggie mixed up in a mess like this again, I'll be the one cleaning your clock, not Splinter or Leo. You got that?" Mikey growled quietly.  
  
Raph was unable to hide his surprise when he heard Mikey speak to him like that. His little brother was actually threatening him? Well, that was definitely something new. He wasn't sure if he should attribute that to Michaelangelo being mad at him or if it was just his barely coherent mind playing tricks on him again.  
  
From the way that Mikey was glaring at him, he decided that his brother was showing anger towards him instead his mind playing tricks. But that realization couldn't take away the partial shock that he was still feeling. And for a very good reason.  
  
He wasn't used to Mikey sounding so aggressive. Usually, even when he was mad, Mikey just joked or said something in a calm voice that only came out when he was upset. It wasn't like him to just come out and show what one might call his darker side.  
  
There had only been a few times that Raph could ever remembered his sibling acting like that in his life. Those times had usually been when another member of the family had been put in danger or Raph had just teased his brother to the point where he couldn't take it anymore. Usually, Raph could just pass that off as his brother overreacting to something.  
  
This time though, Raph knew that he really couldn't blame his brother for being so upset with him. He knew how protective Mikey was of their younger sister. It had been that way since they had all been very young. He had always been the first one to try and protect her, even when Leo was present. And when his protective instincts were alerted, heaven help whoever was on the receiving end.  
  
Better remember not to get on Mikey's bad side from now on, Raph thought as he left the room and his brothers behind.  
  
A/N: *wakes up, yawning* Ah, nice to finally be able to get a good nap. That means I might stay awake long enough to finish up the next chapter so you guys can find out what happens next to the shellhead known as Raphael. I'll tell ya this much, it is NOT gonna be pretty. Splinter is gonna kick some serious turtle shell before things go too much farther. Can't say that I blame him too much though, especially after what Maggie and Raph have put him through.  
  
Leo: *jumps behind the recliner, Poopsie hopping into the room* Streetwyse, I'm begging you, CALL HIM OFF! PLEASE!!!!  
  
*glances back at Leo* And why should I do that? It's your own fault that you're in this mess, not mine. After all, you're the one bothered me when you knew I was taking a break.  
  
Leo: *cringes as Poopsie gets closer* I swear on my honor as a ninja that I won't ever bother you like that again. Please, just call Poopsie off! I can't take the singing anymore. It's driving me nuts!  
  
*shrugs* Okay, but you better remember that or else I'm gonna chain you two together for life in one of my other fics, Leonardo. Poopsie, go bother Rage for awhile. I think he's napping in the basement.  
  
Poopsie: *sugary sweet smile* Okay, Streetwyse. Bye-bye Mr. Turtle-wurtle. I had fun, so let's play again.  
  
Leo: *shudders as Poopsie hops away* You're evil, you know that, don't you, Streetwyse? Streetwyse? Oh, not again. -.-;  
  
*asleep* ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ 


	9. Heart to heart

Disclaimer: Don't own TMNT, just own Maggie.

Chapter 9: Heart to heart

A/N: Wow, more than two years have gone by since I last updated this story. I'm very sorry for the long delay, but I have a very good reason. As much as I hate to admit it, I've spent some time fighting personal problems and there really wasn't room for me to do any writing during this time. I needed time to get my head on straight before I could do anything else and for the moment, things are going okay. So here is the next chapter that everyone has been waiting for. Enjoy.

It took Raph a little longer than he would have liked to reach the old train car that now served as Splinter's study and personal quarters. He was still greatly disoriented, so it was hard for him to walk. Like he had done in his room, before he could really get anywhere, he had to stop every few steps so that he could rest and get his bearings.

And just like before, it wasn't very easy to accomplish this since he kept getting dizzy so often. More than once he was tempted to just stop where he was and forget the whole thing. It would have been so much easier for his body to deal with than trying to get across the vast distance of his family's home.

But doing that meant that he would have to give up on his goal and he couldn't do that now. He had made a decision that he had to see through to the end. Sure it might not have been the most important thing in the world, but it mattered to Raphael. And when something mattered to him, the Turtle would stop at nothing to see it through to the end.

So he forced himself to forget about going back to bed and getting to his Sensei's study. Some steps were slower than others, with a few forcing him to halt even though he didn't even want to. But eventually, the efforts he was making were to pay off when Raphael finally made it outside Splinter's railcar.

Leaning against the side of the railcar, Raph took a moment to catch his breath and to gathered his still mixed up thoughts. It wasn't that easy to do, thanks to the headache his hangover was continuing to provide, but some things managed to get through in the end. Part of the Turtle still couldn't believe what he had heard from his brother concerning Maggie while another thought that the girl must have been out of her own mind to come after him.

She should have known that he would have been able to take care of himself. It wasn't like Raphael was some helpless little kid or a clueless human. He knew how to fight and could handle himself in many situations. That much had been proven from all the fights he had landed himself in with his brothers, the Foot, and the punks that he met during his forays to the surface.

Then again, he realized that just like him, Maggie didn't always take everything into consideration. She might have one of the milder mannered youngsters in their family, but she was known to be almost as rash as her older brother at times. At times she would dive right into a situation without considering the consequences. And more than once, that had gotten the girl into serious trouble.

He could remember times from their childhood when Maggie had practically driven Splinter up the wall with her antics. The times when she would disappear from the Lair without a trace and end up somewhere in the surrounding sewers. Then there was the fact that she was able to squeeze into places that should have been impossible for anyone to reach, especially a small child. Regardless of this fact, Maggie somehow managed to accomplish this and always kept Splinter on his toes as a result.

Something that, as the years went by, Splinter returned in full. As all of his children grew older and were in need of lessons to help prepare them for life, he found ways to surprise them. Splinter would often drop the lessons on them without warning and only leaving them with time react once everything had long since passed. It was all enough to make even Raphael wary as he finally made his way into Splinter's train car.

Splinter looked to be in deep meditation when Raph made it to the door. He wasn't too surprised by that. The Turtle knew that his Master often spent much of his free time mediating about something. What that something was usually varied from day to day, though it was mostly near the same subjects. Such as what trouble his children might be getting into, how they were going to prepare for that day's practices, and who's turn it would be to prepare dinner that night.

Though he knew that it was taking a huge risk by interrupting his Sensei's meditation, Raph cleared his throat and knocked on the side of the door. When he opened his eyes at the sound, Splinter didn't seem too surprised to find Raphael waiting for him. In fact, the expression on his face told the Turtle that he had been expecting his son's arrival. The only thing that he hadn't been prepared for it to be so soon. Like the remaining Turtles, Splinter had assumed that Raph would not be regaining consciousness for some time.

"What is it, my son?" Splinter asked calmly.

"I…I just wanted to talk to you about Maggie, Sensei," Raphael stuttered.

"So you know of what happened then," Splinter commented.

"Yeah, I do, Master," Raphael admitted," Mikey told me."

Splinter only nodded at this comment. At least he had been saved the trouble of informing his son about Maggie's recent escapade. Now he would just have the task of figuring out what had been going through Raph's head last night and just what to do with him. It just wasn't like his son, no matter how brash Raphael might be at times, to act in such a manner.

In the past, the most that he had done was to cause some sort of property damage or tear apart an army of practice dummies in his fury. Something like that, though destructive and a huge mess for anyone to clean up afterwards, Splinter could handle without a problem. But now he had done something that had involved not only himself, but several other people as well. With people, it wasn't as easy to clean up the mess like it was when the damage was physical.

When it came to people, the only ways to repair the damage that had been done was through time and a great deal of work to regain any lost trust or to mend hurt feelings. And to begin that process, he would have to start with Raphael's feelings. This would not be a very easy thing to accomplish given how hard it was for the Turtle to express his innermost feelings. The best that he was able to express were anger, annoyance, and the occasional laugh from when he felt something was funny. He was not one to tell when he was happy or sad.

That just didn't fit in with the tough guy image that he had spent practically his whole life building. Still, it had to be done. Splinter steeled himself for that process and cleared his head to put out what he wanted to say. The first part of which was expressing his disappointment with Raphael's actions. It might make things worse for a little while but it had to be done nonetheless.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Raphael," Splinter began," You were raised to know better than to allow yourself to fall for such temptations."

Raphael flinched slightly at that tone, already starting to prove Splinter's inner theory that he was going to end up feeling hurt in some regards himself. To him, it sounded as if Splinter were accusing him of doing something dirty. True, he had gone and gotten himself drunk, which was a pretty dumb thing to do. But that didn't mean that it was something evil.

As far as he could see, it was just an unfortunate mistake of his life. From what everything his Master had taught him, mistakes were expected to happen during the course of one's life. It was unavoidable and should sooner or later be accepted. Too bad the later part was often the case when it came to Raphael's mistakes. He seemed to be more prone to making them than any of his other siblings at times, especially when those mistakes involved violence and anger.

Emotions and actions that Splinter had tried for years to curb by channeling Raphael's energy in other ways. Sometimes he managed to do that whenever he kept Raphael training for several hours and to the point of exhaustion. When that happened, the only thing that his son desired was to find a comfortable spot to lie in so that he wouldn't feel the ache of his sore body. There was no chance of doing anything even remotely destructive until he had at least 10 hours worth of sleep and was able to get rid of the aches in his muscles.

Now though, Raphael knew that that wouldn't be the solution that Splinter would think up for him. Not while he thought that Raphael had gone completely insane because of last night's drinking bout. If anything, Raphael thought that his Master was going to keep him under lock and key until he was satisfied that Raphael would never do such a thing again. that had happened with many of Raph's countless other mistakes that had been made through the years and that was probably the one thing that wouldn't change with this situation.

Another thing that wouldn't change was the interrogation that he knew Splinter was about to put him through. After years of this treatment, Raphael knew the routine pretty well. Once the problem and crime had been stated, Splinter would then launch into his quest to discover the root of the problem. That was actually the harder part since it always required a person to be honest about what they had been doing and what caused them to act that way.

"Why would you even do such a thing, my son?" Splinter asked, as if on cue.

Silence was the only response that he received at first. For a moment, Splinter wasn't sure if Raphael was refusing to answer him or if he was just taking the time to consider his reply. From the thoughtful and unusually solemn expression that spread over his son's face, Splinter decided that it was probably the latter.

So he decided that if Raphael needed time to formulate an answer, then he would allow it. As curious as he might be, there was no reason to rush this. There was a delicacy to this situation that called for some patience on the part of the Master. So he settled back and waited for whatever his son might have to wait.

As for Raphael, he was no longer aware of his Master for the moment. At the moment, he was deep within his own mind as memories flooded his psyche. He thought back over the last few weeks. He remembered how things had been going with everyone around him. Some things were okay, but most were depressing to him. Fights with his siblings or one of them teasing him about something. Him getting upset and then getting in trouble for it when Splinter suddenly appeared.

Then there were the times that he had messed up in practice because he was distracted by something and had to remain behind for an extra lesson. It wasn't so bad, since it did kind of give him a chance to spend a bit more private time with his Sensei. But at the same time, it was embarrassing. He was making mistakes in things that he should have known how to do, not having to be reversed in the procedure.

And that reversal had just continued to spin him downwards until everything just hit him at once. Then he had cracked under the pressure and sought any way that he could to escape from the strain that was weighing down on him. At the time, Raphael hadn't exactly been certain about just how he should do that. He already knew that what he has used to help relieve his stress in the past just couldn't cut it anymore. There was just too much pent up inside of him for him to let it loose like he had in the past. All that he knew was that he needed to find some way to do it soon or else he felt that he was going to loose his mind from the stress and pain.

"I…guess it was just everything, Master. I couldn't take it anymore," Raphael managed to finally get out," I had to do something to make it go away, even for awhile."

He felt a light hand place itself on his shoulder. There was no need to guess who it was or why they had put that hand there. His Sensei might not know the exact causes for Raph's sudden late night drinking binge, but he knew that it was something very troubling for the teen.

This made the paternal side of him want to find a solution even more than usual. He hated to see any of his children in such turmoil, especially when they chose to face such things on their own. Sometimes such thoughts were good because they helped to build character and to strengthen the spirit. But in times like this where events led a person to act as Raphael had done, that was when something had to be done. It was the only way that the wounds could be eased of their poison and allowed to heal properly. Otherwise, it would just fester into something far worse.

"If you felt this way, then you should have come to me, Raphael. We could have found a better solution to deal with this situation than you going off on your own like you did," Splinter said.

"I guess," Raph shrugged neutrally.

He said no more after that. Deep inside, Raph felt that if he did, then he would never be able to stop. And right now, that was the last thing that he wanted to happen. He needed to be able to deal with one thing at a time, not everything that was bothering him all at once. That would just end with him telling more than he wanted to be let known.

Splinter sensed something of this dilemma and decided not to push the matter any more for the moment. His son might not admit it but he was obviously distressed about this whole matter. It would do neither of them any good if he just start spouting off nonsense because he was feeling distracted by all the emotions that were most likely spinning around in his head at the moment.

"Perhaps, when you are ready, we will discuss this further," Splinter conceded.

Raph just nodded slightly, not really wanting to say anything else on the matter for now. He just wanted to forget about those things for now and focus on something else. Anything else really.

That was a distraction that Splinter was more than willing to provide. He might have been sympathetic for his son's depression, but only to a point. He could not allow Raphael to blame all of his problems on mere depression. There were other causes that led to the tribulations in the teen's life, including those of his own making. Things that he was going to have to confront head-on if he ever hoped to recover from what was plaguing him.

For now though, they would deal with the one matter that they had not gone into detail about yet. Namely, the impact that Raph's little escapade had had on his family the evening before. And how that impact was going to be effecting Raph's life in the times to come. Times that were most likely going to prove to be unpleasant once Splinter had finished with him.

"There are other matters that we need to discuss in the meantime," Splinter said sternly.

From what he had learned from his brothers, Raph already had a good idea as to what Splinter was referring to. But he was prepared for this and he knew that he deserved whatever came, so he wasn't going to make a big deal about it. He was just going to take it like a Turtle and let Splinter say or do whatever he chose to do.

"You are well aware of what occurred last night," Splinter began.

"Yes Master," Raphael nodded.

"Then you must also be aware of the impact that your actions will have on your sister. She has had an experience that I rather she have not know about," Splinter said.

Raph was taken slightly aback at hearing this. He honestly didn't understand everything that his Master meant when he said those things. Sure he knew that Maggie could sometimes take what she heard and saw a bit too literally, like when they were little and she thought that TV monsters were real. But that only happened if she was continually exposed to a subject. If she only saw something once or twice, she was more than bound to forget about it within a week at the most. That was how she had been in the past and how he supposed she would be now.

"That doesn't make much sense to me, Master. Maggie can't be changed just 'cause she saw a few things in one night. One night can't make too much of a difference to her," Raph replied.

A good, solid whack resounded through the railcar as Splinter's walking stick suddenly struck the side of Raph's head from nowhere. Almost immediately after, a loud yelp of pain and outrage sounded from the Turtle. He looked at his Master with hurt and surprise as the pain started to run through his head anew.

"What was that for?" Raph grumbled, rubbing his sore temple.

"For believing that you know everything when it comes to raising your sister to be a responsible and well-meaning adult," Splinter snapped.

"Huh?" Raph said in confusion.

"You are not a parent yet, my son. As such, you do not know what one must worry about when trying to teach a child what path to follow in this world. So do not presume that you are ready to make the judgement of what may affect your sister or not," Splinter said harshly.

That certainly made Raph take a step back in his mind and reconsider his opinions. In more than one way, his Sensei was right. When it came to raising kids, Raphael knew next to nothing other than you had to keep them out of trouble and set rules for them. That was what Splinter basically did all the time with him and his siblings. And so far, for the most part, it had managed to work out all right. There were certainly times like now that proved to be bumps in the road that kept things from going as smoothly when the rules were being followed.

Upon fully realizing this, Raphael decided to a moment to consider his answer before he said anything else. The last thing he wanted to do was say something that would earn him another whack from the 'stick of doom' that Splinter had at his side. One hit from that, and while he was still suffering from a hungover headache at that, had been more than enough for him. Finally though, Raph felt that he had come up with something that seemed plausible enough and would hopefully keep the feared stick away from his head.

"I mean, Maggie's thirteen. She's not a little kid anymore, Master. It's not like she's gonna do anything bad from bein' out for one night," Raph said uneasily.

"Magnolia may be thirteen, Raphael, but she is still a child in many ways. There are many things in this world that can easily influence her mind and turn her down the wrong path. What she saw and heard last night may well have been such an event, but we will not know until more time has passed. I hope that eventually she will forget this and move on with her life. Though somehow I doubt that that will be the case," Splinter corrected sternly.

Raph knew better than to offer any further protests to his Master's logic. In some ways, he could see why Splinter would feel that way. It was kinda true in a way, since a kid Maggie's age could be influenced by what she saw. That much he already knew and accepted. But he still couldn't see how one night out in the city was going to make Maggie into whatever Splinter was worried about.

_Great, that's something that I really didn't wanna hear. Now if Maggie starts acting like a punk, everyone around here is gonna want to skin me all over again, _Raph groaned.

Just another problem to add the already growing pile that was his daily life. It wasn't a totally unexpected scenario, but it wasn't something that he was looking forward to dealing with. After all, Maggie was enough of a handful to take care of already. If she started acting like a street hood, then it would be impossible to deal with her and the anger of everyone else.

"For good or for worse however, Magnolia had learned a lesson from this. One that she will have plenty of time to meditate over during her punishment. As you will, Raphael," Splinter finished.

Well, now it was about to come. The one thing that Raphael had really been waiting for. After the lecture, he knew that there was one thing that Splinter always did with his routine. And that was to tell the offender what their punishment was, how long it would be, and what restrictions would be placed upon them during that time period.

"For breaking your curfew and getting drunk, you will be confined to the lair until I feel otherwise," his Master said.

_Which translates to hello two months of pure boredom, _Raphael thought to himself.

But he didn't voice any objections to this treatment. Raph knew that he deserved every minute of his punishment to come. He'd done something stupid and gotten himself into a mess that might have turned out all right but could have easily become a disaster. It was only fair that he took what was given to him without complaint after all the trouble that he had caused.

Still, that didn't mean that Raphael couldn't feel a little worried about what was going to be happening to him. For whenever Splinter said something like that, it meant that the recipient of the punishment could count on things not going their way for a long time. It was an experience that each of his children had known more than once in their lives. Each of them dealt with it in their own way, but it usually resulted in them learning to be more wary of certain situations.

And when it came to situations, there was one last thing still bothered him enough that couldn't be let go. Even if it landed him in more trouble with his Master, Raph just had to make certain that there was something he could do to change things from what they were if he could. It was the only way that he would ever be able to look his sister in the eye again without feeling like a total traitor.

"What about Maggie? What's gonna happen to her?" Raph couldn't help but ask.

His Master gave him a cool glance that was neither scolding nor outraged that he had asked that question. Instead, it was completely neutral of emotion. Which was really a bit strange, considering the anger and concern that Splinter had shown only a few moments before.

It wasn't something that the teen was about to question though, not when he should have known that it would come sooner or later. After all these years, Raph was used to Splinter's sudden change of attitude during these talks. He may not have understood them all the time, but he was used to them.

"For the next two weeks, Magnolia is confined to the lair and is to remain in her quarters when she is not in practice or at meals," Splinter said.

_I guess that ain't so bad, _Raph thought, _At least she'll get out of here before I do. But still, she shouldn't get punished like this. I know she ran off without other telling anyone and that was wrong, but it was because I was acting stupid. She never would have gone if it weren't for me. _

Raph honestly felt sorry for what he had gotten his sister into. When he had ditched Casey to go on his drinking bout, he hadn't been planning to get anyone into trouble. He just wanted to forget his problems for awhile. Even though he had managed to pull that desired goal off for at least a little while, he had also managed to create more problems than before.

He had gotten his sister into trouble and everyone else in the family mad at him for both getting drunk and being the cause of Maggie running off. Then of course, there was how Casey was going to react the next time the two met up. He hadn't exactly given the human a decent reason for just ditching him, which would easily make Casey upset with Raph for a bit. And to be honest, Raph wouldn't really blame Casey for that.

Casey, even if he was a human, was supposed to be Raphael's best friend. He was the one person outside his family that he was supposed to be able to relate to and be able to share things that weren't possible with his father or siblings. And in the recent past, that had been the case. Raph had been able to relate his problems to Casey and somewhat allow the human to help him work through them.

Lately though, that just hadn't been working anymore. Instead, Raph found himself drifting from his best friend like he had been doing with his family. Nothing the human said seemed to feel right anymore. The only thing that Raph ever felt when he was around Casey was that he understood absolutely nothing about what the Turtle was going through. Finally it just came to a point where Raph would only pretend to be listening to his friend and really just ignore him like he had been doing with his family.

It was something that he continued to do despite the fact that Casey constantly lent an ear to hear out his problems. Not that he would say that outright of course, due to the need to keep his macho image intact, but the offer was there nonetheless. That was just something that friends did for one another, regardless of what was happening. When he had ditched Casey like he had, and right after being told to wait for him, Raph really hadn't been much of a friend himself. In fact, he had been just like the cowardly punks that he spent so much time pounding on. He had turned tail and bolted the first chance that he found instead of trying to make things clear enough for another to understand what was bothering him.

Bolting meant taking along the bottles of beer he found in one of the back rooms. These were in open crates and seemed to just be begging for someone to come and empty them of their contents. Which is what he had done. With the usual ninja stealth, he had gone into the back when no one was paying attention, loaded up on what he could carry, and left the bar.

He hadn't stolen the bottles of course, no matter how it might seem. Raph had had some money with him and had left this as payment for what he had taken. It may not have been enough to cover everything, but at the time, Raphael didn't care. All that had mattered to him was getting his hands on the liquor that would help him forget his problems.

And forgotten his problems he had after he had consumed at least a third of the alcohol he had taken. He might have tried to drink more, but his body was unused to the alien substance and refused to accept anymore without threat of sickness. So there was still plenty of his original stash left over by the time he had fallen into a stupor in the old sewer den. Most of which was probably still just lying around somewhere in the old lair untouched and scattered about.

Somehow, Raph doubted that he would ever have either the chance or the desire to ever retrieve those bottles. They might have brought him some relief for a short time in the world created by hard liquor but that reprieve had faded far too soon. In its place, all he had found was a splitting headache, mistrust and anger from his family, and one huge mess that would continue to haunt him for months at least.

The main effect of that mess would be that no one would trust him to go out on his own. They would all be watching him like hawks to make sure that he didn't do anything else foolish. That was where the possibility that Raph would never have a chance to go back for the liquor came in. Whether they knew if it was still there or not, the entire family would keep him from that place simply to make sure that he didn't start drinking again. All in all, the exact opposite of what Raph had been trying to accomplish in the first place.

_The story of my life. I try to do things so no one else has to worry and I end up making a mess out of everything, _Raph grumbled privately.

Then again, maybe that wasn't entirely true now that Raph thought about it and allowed a solution to start forming in his mind. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way to set this right. It was a long shot at best, but the more he thought about it, the more Raph was willing to chance it. He couldn't believe that he was about to do this though, but he saw no other way. He just couldn't let someone else take the fall for what he had done. At least not Maggie. She was one of the few people who actually didn't judge him just for being himself or for him doing something stupid. She was someone that he honestly wanted to protect from the dangers of the world, including his ever-present and often rampant stupidity.

_I haven't done a really good job of that lately, _Raph thought grumpily_, But I know I can change that. I have to_.

Of course, the easy part of this little matter was thinking of what he needed to do. The hard part was actually managing to get up enough courage to ask and then convince Splinter that it was the right thing to do. That was a task that seemed more daunting than anything else that Raphael had ever done before. But it was still something that he had to do if this was ever going to work out again.

"Master, I-I know I don't have any right to ask you for anything after what I've done, but I need to do this. I…I won't feel right with myself if I don't," Raph said uneasily.

"What is it, Raphael?" Splinter questioned neutrally.

To say that Raphael was surprised that Splinter was at least willing to hear what he had to say was an understatement. It was a complete shock that would have caused the Turtle to faint or at least fall back to the ground if he wasn't already sitting down. Even though this had been his hope, he hadn't really been expecting Splinter to hear him out. Well, no sense in wasting the opportunity.

"Master, please, don't punish Maggie for this. It's my fault that this happened and she was just trying to help out. She wouldn't have been out there if it wasn't for me," Raph pleaded once he had gotten his head straight again," I'll take her punishment with mine and I swear that you won't hear a peep out of me about it. Please."

Out of habit, he bowed his head when he finished speaking. It was both a sign of respect that one gives to their Master and the submission that came from being a student. But it was also this act that prevented him from seeing the expression on his Sensei's face after he spoke.

Though it was well hidden except for a small glint in his eyes, Splinter was actually surprised that Raphael had offered to take his sister's punishment upon himself. He knew that his son, like his brothers, held a protective spot for his younger sister and that there were times when he tried to shield her from unpleasant things. But he had never thought that the Turtle would go to lengths such as this.

Usually, protecting her meant making sure someone was with her when she wanted to go out exploring beyond their normal haunts or avoid telling her the unpleasant details of fighting with the Foot. The latter involved things that no one felt someone Maggie's age should really know or worry about while the former was just to keep an eye on her in a strange place.

After hearing the Turtle speak this way, Splinter realized that he really never knew that his son might feel this level of protectiveness towards Magnolia. That sort of thing usually fell to either Leonardo or Michaelangelo. The former because he was the eldest son and felt that it was his duty to protect his younger siblings when no one else could. While the latter did it because he had always been close to his sister and constantly felt for her wellbeing.

The level of protection from Don and Raph was slightly lower than the other two, though it was still there. In Donatello's case, his level of protectiveness was more centered on the machines he worked with. Maggie spent a great deal of her free time watching him and he knew how dangerous they could be. So he was constantly warning her to keep clear while he was working.

When it came to Raphael, now that was something of uncertainty. How protective he was of his sister usually varied with the situation. If it was around their home and she was playing around too much, then he might warn her or tell her off enough that she would leave whatever she was doing for the moment. But if it were on the surface among the humans, then he would force her to keep close to either himself or one of the others until they were safely home again.

For Raph to be acting like this signaled that he felt a deeper bond with his sister than Splinter had originally guessed. Before, judging from what he had seen and sensed, Raphael had cared for his sister but seemed to prefer it when she kept out of his way when he was in a bad mood or when he was going out to look for a fight. That was something that Maggie was more than willing to oblige with, since when those things happened, she was nowhere in the vicinity of her brother.

That was not to say that Raph and Maggie spent all of their time avoiding one another. They certainly had their moments of quiet agreement and mutual need for company, just as they did with their other siblings. That usually happened when they were alone in the dojo or living room. During those times, they might just sit in silence, enjoying each other's company, or they might talk about different subjects.

_There may be hope for you yet, my son, _Splinter thought proudly.

Despite the pride that he felt for his son's actions, Splinter knew that he couldn't grant this request. Even though she had acted out of concern for a sibling, Magnolia had still disobeyed many of the rules when she went off to help Casey. She was always instructed to let someone know where she was going and to tell the nearest adult if there was trouble. When she hadn't done that and instead gone off into the night without telling anyone, Maggie had placed herself in unnecessary danger. A lesson that she had to learn from if it was to be prevented in the future.

"I am sorry, Raphael, but Magnolia still must be punished," Splinter sighed," She may have only been trying to help you, but she still disobeyed and left the Lair without telling me. Behavior such as that cannot simply be let go. Her punishment stands and that is final."

"Hai Sensei," Raphael conceded.

Well, at least no one could say that he didn't try. But that didn't make Raph feel better afterward. He really wanted to do something that would start to begin paying the debt that he felt he owed to his sister. After all, as far as he was concerned, she had done more for him in a single night than he had done for her in the passed three weeks. That had to mean something.

"I am curious about one other thing, my son," his Sensei suddenly commented.

To be honest, Splinter was only going to cover this matter as an afterthought. He really didn't mean to pry any further into his son's private thoughts or to question his actions. That had been done enough for one day so far, but this time, his curiosity had truly gotten the better of him. Splinter truly wanted to hear the words from his son's own mouth.

Looking up in surprise, Raph asked," Um, what's that?"

"Why would you take her punishment upon yourself, Raphael? You are aware that even if I would consider such a thing, that life would not be easy for you with an extra punishment," Splinter said.

"I guess I just owe Maggie something for getting her into trouble, Sensei," Raphael shrugged.

That was true enough. Raph honestly felt like he owed his sister a compensation for what she had done for him. Not only had she risked their father's wrath by taking off in the middle of the night, but she had also gone off with a human that Raph knew for certain that she didn't like or trust very well. Those were things that she wouldn't do for just anyone but close family or friends and even then it took a great deal to sway her to getting into trouble.

Splinter knew that as well but he knew something else too. That was an attitude that Maggie shared with Raphael, though it wasn't normal for the other to show it as much as she did. Normally, Raphael showed his concern for his family in his own subtle way. Usually by making another offending party apologize or offering to take the one who was upset to do something for just the two of them. It was often that he said something outright like he was doing now.

"You have truly surprised me, my son," Splinter said.

"Huh? What do you mean, Master?" Raphael asked.

"It isn't like you to choose to take something like this upon yourself, Raphael. Normally you would let someone take what you feel that they deserve. What has caused this?" Splinter asked.

"Maggie didn't have to do anythin' for me, but she did. Now I gotta do somethin' for her. It's fair," Raph answered without hesitation.

"I can understand that my son and I am proud that you are willing to make that sacrifice for your sister, but this is how things must be. Magnolia has her own lessons to learn and that will never happen if you take her punishment for her. Do you understand?" Splinter said.

"Yes Sensei, I do," Raphael nodded.

Outwardly, he was agreeing with what his Master was saying. To himself though, Raph was already making a silent promise. He might not have been able to convince Splinter to relinquish the punishment on Maggie, but he would continue to find a way to make this up to the girl. No matter how long or what it took, he was most certainly going to make this up to his sister.

"Can I go talk to her?" Raph asked after a moment.

"You may go and speak with your sister," Splinter said simply," After we have finished in the dojo."

His son instantly froze when he heard those words. He knew that he was in for more trouble when Splinter started talking like that. Just what, he couldn't be sure. Going to the dojo could mean anything from practicing, to sparring with someone, doing flips, or just listening to Splinter lecture about something.

"What do we need ta do in the dojo?" Raphael asked almost uncertainly.

"You missed this morning's practice because you were not coherent enough to attend. Now that you are, we are going to make up for lost time," Splinter answered.

A/N: Oy. This is by far the longest chapter that I have ever written in my life. I considered breaking it down but after making everyone wait for this update for so long, I decided against it. Just consider this my little apology gift to all the readers out there who have been waiting for this story to continue. So I hope that everyone has enjoyed this and I promise that I will have this story finished before the summer.


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